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Surgeons Perform the First Partial Face Transplant

Surgeons in Amiens, France, performed the first partial face transplant on November 27, 2005.

Published · Updated · 1 min read

The Event

Surgeons in Amiens, France, performed the first partial face transplant on November 27, 2005. The operation reconstructed part of a severely injured patient's face using donor tissue.

The Wider Story

The procedure brought together surgery, transplantation medicine, rehabilitation and complex ethical questions. It depended on a donor and the donor family's decision as well as the surgical team.

Putting the Event in Perspective

The first partial transplant should not be called the first full face transplant.

Reading the Historical Record

A respectful illustration protects patient privacy and avoids graphic surgical imagery or claims that transplantation is a simple cure.

About the Historical Recreation

The accompanying visual is an illustrative reconstruction: a generic 2005 hospital exterior and a quiet medical conference room, no patient or surgery. It is not authentic archival footage, an eyewitness record or additional evidence for the event.

Sources

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