Allotransplantation of the face: how close are we?
Reconstruction of patients with severe facial disfigurements due to burns, trauma, or cancer is a challenging task for plastic surgeons. Currently, available reconstructive options rarely result in satisfactory functional and aesthetic outcomes. In this article the authors present the rationale and experimental basis for the introduction of composite facial allograft transplantation in humans. They outline the ethical, social, and media-related issues in facial allograft transplantation.
Department of Plastic Surgery, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA. siemiom@ccf.org
Maria
M
Siemionow
Galip
G
Agaoglu
D000818:Animals; D005145:Face / Q000601:surgery*; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D007165:Immunosuppression Therapy; D023421:Models, Animal; D012535:Scalp / Q000637:transplantation; D016378:Tissue Transplantation / Q000941:ethics / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous