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Woman Mutilated by Chimpanzee Underwent Face Transplant in Boston


A woman who was brutally attacked by a chimpanzee back in 2009 has undergone a full face transplant in Boston, the hospital where the procedure was made announced on Friday.

Charla Nash’s body was mutilated when a friend’s pet chimpanzee went wild. The chimpanzee named Travis then weighed 200 pounds was afterwards killed by the police through several gun shots.

According to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Nash underwent a surgery last month to receive a face transplant. Nash’s surgery was the third of its kind that was actually performed in the country.

The medical team that attended Nash’s case was composed of more than 30 doctors, as well as residents, nurses, and anesthesiologists. The surgery, which lasted for almost 24-hours, replaced Nash’s facial skin, lips, nose, nerves and muscles of facial animation.

Hands transplantations were attempted as well, the hospital said. However, the surgery was not a success and the hands were eventually removed.

Reports say Charla is doing well a month after the surgery. Charla’s family has been talking with several news outlets nationwide. They say Charla will look very close to her old self once the recuperation period is over.

Brigham and Women’s Hospital is a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. It has already performed two successful full face transplants this year.

Dallas Wiens, 26-year-old, is United States’ first recipient of full face transplant. He went home in Texas last month to be with his daughter and resume his normal life. He is continuing rehabilitation on facial muscle as well.

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First Full Face Transplant Patient Shows His Face


The country’s first full face transplant patient made an appearance on Monday and said that the very first thing his daughter told him right after the operation was that he looked extremely handsome.

25-year-old Dallas Wiens joined his surgeons on Monday at the Bringham and Women’s Hospital for his first public appearance since his full face transplant in March. Wiens had a goatee and wore dark sunglasses during the interview. The young man had just survived a 15-hour procedure and is the first recipient of the full face transplant in the United States.

Wiens received new lips, nose, facial muscles, nerves, and skin from an undisclosed donor and yet, he said it feels natural. The entire costs for the operation were paid for by the U.S military with the hopes that the success of the operation will help the organization treat their soldiers with severe facial damage.

Wiens is not a soldier but his face was burned after he hit a power line in a church he was painting in November of 2008. He was also left blind after the accident.

Wiens’ face is still a little swollen when he faced a room-full of reporters and photographers but he said that his new face is amazing. He added that he easily adapted after the operation and he can now smell and breathe through his new nose again.

Bohdan Pomahac, the surgeon who operated Wiens, said that the operation went smoothly and the results came out better than what he had hoped for. Unfortunately, the damages on his face were so severe that the team of surgeons were not able to restore his sight and some of the sensation on his left cheek and forehead.

The hospital was given a $3.4 million research grant by the Department of Defense; enough to conduct full face transplants to four more patients.

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