Surgeons prepare for world’s first full-face transplant

Three years after the world’s first partial face transplant, significant progress has been made with two further successful operations.

A 30-year-old man who had part of his face torn off by a bear and another with a disfiguring tumour have had their quality of life transformed after partial transplants using tissue from deceased or comatose donors, surgeons in China and France report.

A French woman, Isabelle Dinoire, received the first partial face transplant in 2005 after she was attacked by a dog.

British surgeons are among those aiming to conduct the world’s first full-face transplant but this procedure would carry significant ethical and psychological risks, experts say.