Ethical considerations in human facial tissue allotransplantation.
BACKGROUND
Human facial tissue allotransplantation is now a clinical reality. Proponents of this new treatment contend that the benefits outweigh the risks, while the critics argue they do not. This debate has been presented in great detail in the bioethics literature but has not been brought to the attention of the plastic surgery community.


METHODS
The purpose of this paper is to provide a synopsis of the key issues being debated in facial transplantation by presenting to the plastic surgery community a synopsis of an ethical debate published in the 2004 summer issue of the American Journal of Bioethics.


RESULTS
Presented is a set of ethical guidelines for facial transplantation in the form of a "target article." Alongside this are written commentaries from 15 experts in related fields, along with responses to these commentaries. Together, this discussion makes up a landmark exercise in open display and public and professional discussion and evaluation and serves as a comprehensive list of the major ethical issues being debated today in the field of facial tissue allotransplantation.


CONCLUSIONS
Plastic surgeons play a central role in the care of facially disfigured patients and will therefore lead the introduction of facial tissue allotransplantation into the clinical arena. Consequently, it is important that they be aware of, and indeed that they play a key role in forming, the debate surrounding this new treatment. It is with this in mind that we present this synopsis to the plastic surgery readership.
Barker
John H
JH
Department of Surgery, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40202, USA. jhbark01@louisville.edu
Brown
Charles S
CS
Cunningham
Michael
M
Wiggins
Osborne
O
Furr
Allen
A
Maldonado
Claudio
C
Banis
Joseph C
JC
D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005145:Face / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent; D016378:Tissue Transplantation / Q000941:ethics* / Q000379:methods; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous