The first woman who partially transplanted her face died

Isabelle Dinoire (Isabelle Dinoire). Photo: AP

November 27, 2005, Frenchwoman Isabelle Dinoire (Isabelle Dinoire) became the first person in the world to be partially transplanted. A large part of her face was transplanted to her, including her chin, mouth, and nose. The operation was carried out seven months after the woman had been bitten by her favorite Labrador retriever, Tanya, trying to wake the hostess after an intentional overdose of sleeping pills.

The dramatic story Isabelle has become widely known . Thousands of people around the world with a disfigured face received a ghostly hope to improve their appearance: to replace the entire face entirely, drastically change their fate, and start a new life from scratch. However, not all so simple.

As it has now become known, Isabel Dinoire suffered greatly from the complications of the operation. In the winter of 2015, her body rejected the implant. Yesterday, the French press reported the sad news: a woman died on April 22, 2016, at the age of 49.
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The world's first partial face transplant operation was performed by surgeons at Amiens-Picardie Hospital in Amiens, France. The operation began on Sunday, November 27, 2005, and lasted 15 hours. For surgeons, this was the only option; they did not see other opportunities to help the patient in this condition. Numerous surgeons, doctors and service personnel took part in the historical operation in shifts.

The face for implantation was taken from another woman, in whom doctors ascertained brain death. By luck, she had a similar complexion, bone structure and other important characteristics.

During surgery, one group of surgeons removes the face and surrounding tissue from the donor, and another group of surgeons removes the damaged areas of the face from the recipient. First, the missing bones are implanted, then four key arteries and veins, two on each side of the neck. They need to be attached as quickly as possible to ensure blood flow to the flap. After the restoration of blood flow, the surgeons squeeze the nervous tissue, muscles, other tissues and, eventually, the skin.


Part of the face delivered for transplant. A still from a documentary about Isabel Dinoire

Many specialists from the medical community spoke out against carrying out such an operation due to the high risk of complications and the patient's condition that was too weak. Experts said that French surgeons in the pursuit of sensation violate ethical and legal norms . Nevertheless, in the end, the operation was recognized successful.

For several years, doctors monitored the status of the transplanted skin: stitched blood vessels, vascular inserts, blood flow in the stitched vessels, and general skin engraftment.

In her memoir, Isabelle's Kiss ( Isabelle's Kiss ), a woman describes how doctors long taught her to eat, talk, and smile normally. After a historic operation, a woman with a new face was first brought to a press conference in February 2006. Although hard, she was able to say a few words. After the operation, the woman was really able to lead a relatively normal life: she started to eat on her own, with time, even began to feel new lips, nose and mouth.

In December 2015, partial flap necrosis began. As a result, Dinoire partially lost the ability to move her lips. After the second operation, the patient developed two malignant tumors.

The woman passed away on April 22, 2016. Amiens hospital was late in reporting about her death in order to protect the woman’s relatives from the annoying attention of the press. Doctors did not name the exact cause of death.


The chronological scale shows all operations for the full and partial face transplant from 2005 to 2014. Sources of information: The Lancet; Dr. Eduardo D. Rodriguez; American Journal of Transplantation. Images: Pixelmolkerei / NYU Langone. Infographics: The New York Times

Until recently, a face transplant is considered a very risky operation. However, from 2005 to 2014, 28 operations on full or partial face transplantation were performed worldwide. A review of the results of these operations was published on April 27, 2014 in a scientific article in The Lancet magazine (doi: 10.1016 / S0140-6736 (13) 62632-X).



In most cases, the operations were successful: partial restoration of motor activity, functional and psychological recovery of patients was recorded. The results of operations are listed in the following table for 18 patients about whom the information is open.



The authors of the scientific work conclude that now the face transplantation can be considered, in general, a safe and feasible operation. In their opinion, it should be recommended to more patients who have suffered from genetic diseases, burns, animal bites, gunshot wounds and other incidents.

True, not everyone can afford such an operation. The procedure is still considered experimental and risky. In addition, its cost is about $ 300,000 and is not covered by every health insurance, even in countries with a developed system of medical care.

The risk of tissue rejection remains high enough. As the example of Isabel Dinoire shows, the consequences may be incompatible with life.

Engraftment of another's tissue threatens the occurrence of infection. But many people with disfigured faces are willing to take a chance. Modern society very much appreciates the appearance of a person and, in particular, the symmetry of the face. Therefore, people with disfigured faces are almost always subjected to humiliation, discrimination and social exclusion. As a result, these unfortunates often suffer from severe depression and sometimes attempt to commit suicide.

The usual methods of facial reconstruction usually give an unsatisfactory result - leave terrible scars and deformities. In contrast, new methods of full face transplantation are quite satisfactory and have already improved the lives of dozens of people who have undergone such an operation. Some of them comment in the documentary on the link below.


Isabelle Dinoire after surgery. Frame from documentary

Of the 28 patients who received a face transplant in 2005-2014, almost all live relatively normal lives. They can eat, drink, speak more legibly than before, smell, smile and blink. Four patients returned to school. Three patients died (now four).

Public opinion has yet to get used to the idea that a person is able to live with a person taken from another person. You need to understand that the recipient does not look like a donor. Only fabrics are borrowed, but not facial features. Perhaps this will remove some of the fears in the public mind.

It is likely that in the future, a face transplant will become a more common and inexpensive operation.