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I wonder if he will have to take anti-transplant rejection medications forever, or if the foreign cells will eventually be replaced by his own cells.
The 25-year-old Texan was given a new nose, lips, skin, muscle and nerves from an anonymous donor.
A meta-analysis of 5 population-based studies published before March 2007 demonstrated a 3-fold increased risk of cancer in solid organ transplant recipients compared with the general population matched for age, sex and calendar period
Given that the poor guy cannot see what he looks like I'm not sure that the procedure was worth it:the "benefit" of this life-threatening (and expensive) cosmetic exercise is for onlookers.
… think of what it would be like for a grade-school kid to to have a father that looks like a monster
RD your reaction is one of being squeamish, a knee-jerk reaction to something you don't like the look of, and therefore you are trying to justify that reaction by making up scenarios that are are a possibility of ANY transplantation, not just one of the face.
We live in an unforgiving society, quick to pick up on the slightest imperfection, and stare unashamedly at people who are disfigured, like they are some kind of freak show.
My objection was not based on the “yuck factor”, my point was if a transplant was life saving then the risk of life threatening surgery and toxic medications would be worth taking: you'd have nothing to lose, (except your bank balance). A face transplant isn’t life saving, it’s cosmetic.
Following that principle we can eliminate racism in Europe by having coloured people bleach their skin.
People shouldn’t have to risk their health so their face fits in
IMO this face transplant is a matter of national prestige not patient welfare: the medical equivalent of the space/arms race.
QuoteFollowing that principle we can eliminate racism in Europe by having coloured people bleach their skin. Yeah because that is totally what we are talking about isn't it RD?? [] []
Some commentators have argued that the psychological trauma resulting from the surgery [face transplant] would be so great that the procedure would cause more harm than good.
According to Dr. Hutchison, the transplantation process carries significant practical risks. In the first few postoperative days, there is a 5% to 10% risk of transplant failure from thrombosis of the surgical junctions that pump blood from the carotid artery through the donor's blood vessels into the transplanted skin. The immunosuppressant drugs may fail to control the immune response, leading to rejection at any stage, even months after the transplant. Estimates of risk of rejection are 10% failure in the first year and 30% to 50% over the next 5 to 10 years.
We were taking about of changing a person's face to "fit in" : to avoid being stared at and rude comments, which coloured people in Europe often have to suffer. Mr Wiens's face change could knock decades off his life expectancy, and if he was paying for it, about $500,000 off his bank account. Too much risk and too much cost for what is essentially a cosmetic exercise : the functional gains seem negligible IMO and not worth the risks & cost.
BTW cherry picking from news/media articles does nothing for me, I already know the risks from any non-self transplant procedure, and particularly of the immunosuppression involved.