Face transplant woman can smile

Isabelle DinoireThe photograph shows Isabelle Dinoire just after the operation (left) and one year on (right). A year after Isabelle Dinoire, from Amiens, France, received the world's first partial face transplant from a brain dead donor after being mauled by her dog, she is gaining more and more sensitivity and facial mobility. And most importantly, she is looking pretty good.

Professor Devauchelle, from the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Amiens, France, told AFP news agency: "Aesthetically, the transplant has fitted in very well with the shape of her face. People who hadn't seen her before her accident now recognise her, which is very interesting.

"When she is in a crowd, she doesn't stick out as 'the transplant patient', and this is important. "You still see scars, of course. From time to time, there are minor inflammations which occur near wires that lie deep beneath the skin. "But elsewhere, the scar lines have almost completely faded. If she puts on a little bit of makeup, she looks fine."

He said her facial sensitivity, in terms of warmth and tactility, had been restored and facial mobility had returned. She is able to eat and drink without problems, and still smokes.

Link & Image: BBC
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