Transplanting a Face : Notes on a Life in Medicine

This amazing book is more than the story of the Cleveland Clinic surgeon whose goal of performing the world's first full face transplant attracted worldwide attention. It is also a story of courage and hope. Soon people whose faces have been disfigured through birth defects, accident, or disease may receive the chance to lead a new life. When Dr. Maria Siemionow announced in December 2004 that she had received approval to perform this controversial and groundbreaking procedure, she was bombarded with media attention. And she was touched by the many moving requests she received from people wanting to know who would be eligible for the operation, how it would be done, and where they could register for surgery. Transplanting a Face: Notes on a Life in Medicine answers those questions and others simply and honestly. Learn what a triumph of form and function the human face represents. Follow Dr. Siemionow's path as she prepares to pioneer a procedure that has never before been attempted. Discover the qualities a candidate must demonstrate in preparing to receive the face of another. Transplanting a Face reveals how much more than muscle and tissue there is to the human face. Through its features, we express emotion and convey identity. As social beings, we connect almost every aspect of daily life with the face we show to the world. Once you read this book, you may never look at your face - or anyone else's - the same way again. Book jacket.