Prompt Cast
The History and Process of Face Transplants
TLDR Face transplants have been successfully performed since 2005, allowing individuals to restore their appearance after severe facial injuries. The procedure involves finding a brain dead donor, cutting off the needed part of the face, and reattaching it to the recipient, including blood vessels, connective tissue, and possibly bone, muscle, and fat.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
This podcast episode is about face transplants and how they work.
03:17
The first successful transplant was a kidney transplant in 1954, carried out by Joseph Murray using identical twins, but the body's immune system typically rejects foreign tissue, so suppressing the immune system with drugs became a successful method for transplants in the 1960s.
06:40
The first successful face transplant from a donor occurred in 2005 after a French woman lost her face due to a gruesome event.
10:05
A woman lost the lower half of her face after her black lab chewed it off while she was sleeping, but there are conflicting reports about whether it was a suicide attempt or not.
13:32
A face transplant involves finding a live donor who is brain dead and on life support, cutting off the needed part of the face, transporting it to the recipient, and reattaching it, including blood vessels, connective tissue, and possibly bone, muscle, and fat.
17:04
There have been two full facial transplants, one on a woman in Chicago and one on a French man with Elephant Man disease.
20:28
In the future, there may be other ways to make yourself beautiful and stop the aging process without having to rely on face transplants from brain dead individuals.
24:08
Face transplants can be a way to restore appearance after a bear attack or other severe facial injuries.
27:30
Face transplants can be a way to restore appearance after severe facial injuries, and if you want to send a correction or compliment to the hosts, you can email them at stuffpodcast@howstuffworks.com.
Categories:
Society & Culture
