Chimp attack victim shows her new face
Three months after receiving a full face transplant, the US woman severely mauled by a chimpanzee in 2009 shows her new face for the first time.
Charla Nash, the 57-years-old Connecticut woman, survived savagely attack of a friend’s pet chimpanzee two years ago but lost hands and face including nose, lips and eyes.
On Thursday, Brigham and Women’s Hospital released the first photo of their patient, who received a face and double hand transplant after the 20-hour surgery in May.
"I will now be able to do things I once took for granted," Nash said in a statement. "I will be able to smell. I will be able to eat normally. I will no longer be disfigured. I will have lips and will speak clearly once again,” she said.
“I am tremendously grateful to the donor and her family," Nash added.
Despite the success of face transplant operation, unfortunately, the new hands failed to thrive due to blood flow problem and doctors were forced to remove them.
"Losing the new hands is just a bump in the road of my recovery. I believe that one day I’ll have two hands to help me live as a blind person with confidence," Nash said.
Nash’s surgery and the two other full-face transplants in the US were all performed in the same hospital. Her operations, including face and hands replacement, involved a 30-member surgical team led by Dr. Bohdan Pomanhac.
"It’s wonderful to see how Charla’s recovery has progressed as she continues taking steps toward her new life," said Dr Pomanhac, who did the first full face transplant in the US in December 2008.
At least 18 face transplants have been already done around the world, starting with a French woman mauled by her dog in November 2005.
Source: presstv.ir
