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The below images show the startling transformation of a former firefighter who has received the “most extensive” face transplant ever, carried out by a team of US surgeons.
Plastic surgeon Dr Eduardo Rodriguez led the team that performed the 26-hour surgery to give Patrick Hardison a new face, including the entire scalp, ears and eyelids:
The donor was 26-year-old David Rodebaugh who was fatally injured in a cycling accident.
The face transplant was carried out in August, giving the 41-year-old the face of the 26-year-old bike mechanic from New York, who was declared brain dead following his accident during the summer.
Hardison suffered severe burns to his face in 2001 when he and his colleagues fought to save a woman they believed was trapped inside a mobile home — but who had actually gone fishing.
He underwent 70 surgeries to recreate his face, with Dr Rodriguez leading a team of more than 100 physicians, nurses, technical, and support staff.
Hardison says his burns were so severe that “kids ran screaming and crying when they saw me,” adding that “there are things worse than dying.”
“I thought for years that I would die the way I was after I got injured. I never thought I would be sitting here today after a face transplant.”
Three months on from the transplant operation, Hardison, from Sanatoria, Mississippi, says of his new face, “it’s mine”.
Dr Rodriguez first promised Hardison he would “make him normal” when they met in 2012. The surgeon set about finding a suitable donor but was met with several false alarms.
When they finally found a suitable donor, Hardison was informed that the ground-breaking transplant, performed at NYU Langone Medical Centre, had only a 50% chance of success.
Dr Rodriguez explained that it was the “most extensive ever performed” and would be a case of live or die.
“You have to understand: If it were to fail, there is no bailout option. You would likely die. This is a procedure that is all or none.”
Of the 30 people who have had face transplants, five have died from rejection.
Hardison’s recovery is going well, but he has considerable pain through his cheeks and forehead and always will.
He will also have to take immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of his life.
Dr Rodriguez has also warned Hardison that “there will be a rejection — not if but when”.
But Hardison isn’t too concerned about any of that. Speaking of his future, he simply said: “I can live with the pain.”
We wish him the best of luck.