MONTREAL — In what doctors are calling a Canadian first, surgeons from Montreal’s Maisonneuve-Rosemont hospital have successfully completed a face transplant.
The 30-hour operation on a 64-year-old man who was badly disfigured in a hunting accident took place this past May.
A team led by plastic surgeon Dr. Daniel Borsuk performed the feat on Maurice Desjardins.
The transplant was made possible by a donor and the permission of the donor’s family.
Health officials told a news conference this morning the recipient is doing well some four months after the surgery.
He is able to breathe without a tracheotomy, chew with his new jaws and also smell and speak properly.
The man had been living in constant pain and isolation since the 2011 accident despite five reconstructive surgeries.
Doctors noted the transplant also allowed the patient to restore his two jaws, facial muscles, teeth, lips and nose.