Isabelle Dinoire, the
38-year-old French woman who received a groundbreaking face transplant on November 27th to
acquire a new nose, chin and mouth is now recovering and improving. Amazing photos.
While the immediate photos of Isabelle after the operation were not
flattering, she is a very determined individual working through the
pains of recovery.
Miss Dinoire was injured when her dog bit her on the face at her
home in Valenciennes, northern France, in May.
Professor Devauchelle said the operation "far surpassed" the
expectations of the eight-strong surgical team.
"We were stupefied by the perfect integration of the patient’s
face with that of the donor’s," he said.
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| Isabelle Dinoire before and after |
remarkably similar, he said. So much so, that the ambulance driver
who took Miss Dinoire from the airport in Lyons to the hospital
following her transfer from Amiens failed to detect the graft.
Before the operation, Miss Dinoire, 38, a mother of two
teenagers, could barely eat, drink or talk. Just hours afterwards,
she was able to do all three, he said. However, Professor
Devauchelle said it would take up to six months for her to regain
proper feeling and movement in her new face.
He also explained that the lips and nose would neither resemble
the donor’s nor the patient’s, as they were attached to a different
bone structure. "She will have to reappropriate her face," he
said.
