Venus
02-06-2006, 02:45 PM
Face Transplant Patient Appears Before Cameras
AMIENS, France (Feb. 6) -- The Frenchwoman who made medical history as the recipient of a partial face transplant gave the world its first look at the results on Monday.
"I now have a face like everyone else," Isabelle Dinoire said at her first news conference since the groundbreaking surgery in November.
In speech that was heavily slurred, she explained how she was mauled by a dog last year and thanked the family of the donor who gave her new lips, a chin and nose.
A circular scar was still visible where the face tissue was attached in the 15-hour operation in Amiens.
Dinoire appeared to still have great difficulty moving or even closing her mouth, which often hung open. But she said that she was regaining sensation.
"I can open my mouth and eat. I feel my lips, my nose and my mouth," she said. During the news conference, while one of her surgeons was speaking, she lifted a cup to her lips and appeared to drink.
In terms of coloring, the match between her own skin and the graft was remarkable.
"I expect to resume a normal life ... I pay homage to the donor's family," she said. "My operation could help others to live again."
Dinoire , a divorced mother of two teenage daughters, spoke frankly about the attack in May by her Labrador. She said she was passed out when the dog mauled her and that she did not immediately realize the extent of her disfigurement when she awoke.
"When I woke up, I tried to light a cigarette, and I didn't understand why I couldn't hold it between my lips," she said.
She added that she then went to look at herself in a mirror and was horrified by what she saw. She also explained the difficulties of life with disfigurement, saying she suffered stares when she went out.
"I understand all people who have a handicap," she said.
I am going to post few pictures and note there is all pictures and even video of her speaking at site.
http://articles.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20060205192409990007&ncid=NWS00010000000001
AMIENS, France (Feb. 6) -- The Frenchwoman who made medical history as the recipient of a partial face transplant gave the world its first look at the results on Monday.
"I now have a face like everyone else," Isabelle Dinoire said at her first news conference since the groundbreaking surgery in November.
In speech that was heavily slurred, she explained how she was mauled by a dog last year and thanked the family of the donor who gave her new lips, a chin and nose.
A circular scar was still visible where the face tissue was attached in the 15-hour operation in Amiens.
Dinoire appeared to still have great difficulty moving or even closing her mouth, which often hung open. But she said that she was regaining sensation.
"I can open my mouth and eat. I feel my lips, my nose and my mouth," she said. During the news conference, while one of her surgeons was speaking, she lifted a cup to her lips and appeared to drink.
In terms of coloring, the match between her own skin and the graft was remarkable.
"I expect to resume a normal life ... I pay homage to the donor's family," she said. "My operation could help others to live again."
Dinoire , a divorced mother of two teenage daughters, spoke frankly about the attack in May by her Labrador. She said she was passed out when the dog mauled her and that she did not immediately realize the extent of her disfigurement when she awoke.
"When I woke up, I tried to light a cigarette, and I didn't understand why I couldn't hold it between my lips," she said.
She added that she then went to look at herself in a mirror and was horrified by what she saw. She also explained the difficulties of life with disfigurement, saying she suffered stares when she went out.
"I understand all people who have a handicap," she said.
I am going to post few pictures and note there is all pictures and even video of her speaking at site.
http://articles.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20060205192409990007&ncid=NWS00010000000001