Caution Urged in Proceeding With Face Transplant

U.S. and British teams preparing to perform the world's first face transplant have been strongly urged to move slowly by a prestigious U.K. medical organization despite the growing belief that the operation is technically feasible.

The Royal College of Surgeons said ethical, legal and moral issues -- as well as psychological consequences for patients and the families of donors -- need far more investigation.

"We do not feel the time is appropriate to see this experimental procedure," said Sir Peter Morris. "The microsurgical skills and anatomical knowledge required to carry out facial transplantations are already well established.

"But facial transplantation is not only a matter of technical achievemen," Morris said. We must also take into consideration the psychological impact on the recipient and on the donor family, and the considerable long-term risks of the need for lifetime immunosuppression drugs."

The Royal College report suggested there might be a one in 10 chance of immediate acute rejection. Chronic rejection could be expected to occur in 30 to 50 percent of patients, the report said, with new faces gradually undermined by deteriorating tissue over two to five years.

Dr. Peter Butler, who heads the team that has been preparing to perform a face transplant at Royal Free Hospital in North London, said the surgery "would be highly complex, taking up to 14 hours. It would involve removing eight blood vessels, four arteries and four veins from the donor."

Butler said the face to be used for a transplant would have to be removed from its donor within six hours of death.

Dr. John Barker of the University of Louisville, who heads an American team that has been preparing to perform a face transplant, said he agreed with the call for proceeding cautiously, but added: "We believe we are ready."

Barker said a search was underway for a suitable patient for the first operation, but said "we don’t have a patient currently waiting to get a face transplant."

Other Sources: Guardian, BBC