After a year, man with face transplanted back to see

São Paulo - who sees the American Patrick Hardison on the street can not imagine that he was once a man without eyelids, ears, lips, eyebrows and nose. In 2001, Hardison worked as a fireman when he entered a burning house and saved a woman. But the heroic act cost her face.

After fifteen and a face transplant lasting 26 hours, the American returned to have a face and a normal life. "I'm happy to say that I'm fine. I like to tell people that I am old Pat ever," Hardison said at a press conference at NYU Langone Medical Center, where the surgery was done.

Before making the transplant, however, Hardison has undergone more than 70 surgeries between 2001 and 2015. At that time, he was not able to perform functions that are natural for most people to inhale from the nose and the mouth or even open his mouth to eat foods. Therefore, the American used a breathing tube in their trachea and another tube for feeding. He also needed dentures to hear because his ears were burned in the fire, and as was lidless, could not sleep.

Thus, the transplantation was needed for Hardison have a better quality of life. It had to wait for about a year to find a donor who had the same blood type, similar color and facial bone structure similar to the fireman. More than 100 surgeons coordinated two procedures during surgery: skin removal, scalp, donor bone pieces to then attach them to Hardison's face.



Pat Hardison: the fireman returned to a normal life one year after transplantation

During the months of recuperation, American still left four other minor surgery to fit the mouth and the eyelids, and removing the feeding tubes and breathing. Worldwide, about 40 patients have received face transplants. The procedure is risky not only on the operating table, but there are great chances of rejection of received tissue.

In case Hardison, her body so far showed no rejection. His recovery is being so fast that the US has returned to see. Eduardo Rodriguez, a doctor who coordinated the operation, said at the news that the firefighter follow the medical protocol and therefore the procedure was a success. The careful selection of the donor was also important so that the body does not reject the tissue.

The positive result shows that similar procedures can be done in other patients with severe injuries on his face, according to Rodriguez. The importance of this to the doctor, is that face-related trauma can cause serious psychological problems for patients, from depression to suicide.

Although Hardison need to go through the long process of psychological adjustment, he said he is happy with his new face. "Years ago, I had no hope of having any kind of different life than I had. Hope is something I never thought, "said the fireman. "Now that I have, I can help other people and show them that life will be better."