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A leading plastic surgeon is calling for a debate about whether face transplants should take place.
Peter Butler said surgical techniques would allow the procedure to take place within the next six to nine months.
But he said it was essential for a moral and ethical debate to take place before anyone underwent the operation.
The microsurgical procedure, a technique already used by doctors, could involve a patient being given new lips, chin, ears, nose, skin and bone from a recently deceased person. Blood vessels, arteries and veins would have to be taken from the donor's face. In order for the face transplant to work, nerves that control feeling and movement would have to be attached to be successful.
At the same time, the recipient would have to have their face, facial muscles, skin and subcutaneous fat removed.
In addition, advances in suppressing the immune system's response to foreign tissue would give the procedure a better chance of success.
Peter Butler said surgical techniques would allow the procedure to take place within the next six to nine months.
But he said it was essential for a moral and ethical debate to take place before anyone underwent the operation.
The microsurgical procedure, a technique already used by doctors, could involve a patient being given new lips, chin, ears, nose, skin and bone from a recently deceased person. Blood vessels, arteries and veins would have to be taken from the donor's face. In order for the face transplant to work, nerves that control feeling and movement would have to be attached to be successful.
At the same time, the recipient would have to have their face, facial muscles, skin and subcutaneous fat removed.
In addition, advances in suppressing the immune system's response to foreign tissue would give the procedure a better chance of success.
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