A man in France has received a second face transplant following the rejection of an attempt in 2010.
The operation was performed over two days in January at the Georges Pompidou European Hospital by a medical team led by Professor Laurent Lantieri.
Doctors say this latest operation demonstrates that, for the first time ever, re-transplantation is possible in cases of chronic rejection in vascularised grafts (face and hand).
The patient had got from an original face transplant eight years ago - but this led to "chronic rejection", the hospital says.
2e greffe de la face pour un même patient à l'@HopitalPompidou AP-HP : 3 mois après l’intervention, le patient, toujours hospitalisé, a pu bénéficier d’une première sortie, et sa sortie définitive est prévue à court terme. https://t.co/HtI2abTi8f pic.twitter.com/UyVkDXSN0V
— AP-HP (@APHP) April 17, 2018
He was put back on a national transplant waiting list managed by the Biomedicine Agency in October 2017.
The hospital adds: "The severity of rejection required a complete removal of the front end of November 2017.
"The patient, hospitalised in intensive care, received several weeks of daily treatments, made particularly complex by the lack of (a) face and infectious and immunological status related to rejection."
French Surgeon Laurent Lantieri is seen in this 2009 photo | Image: Bernard Bisson/JDD/ABACAPRESS.COM
The patient went through heavy immunological treatment to try and avoid rejection of this second graft.
The hospital says this was to remove antibodies that may have caused rejection.
The patient also received local and general care to help with healing, psychological support and speech therapy that will continue for several months.
The hospital thanked the donor family for their "selfless act" that allowed the transplant to take place.
