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March 27th, 2012
01:36 PM ET
36-hour face transplant 'most extensive' everA 37-year-old man received an extensive face transplant stretching from his hairline down to the neck, including a jaw, full set of teeth, tongue and cheeks. The surgery essentially replaced most of the patient’s face except for his eyes and the back remnant of his throat. Richard Lee Norris of Hillsville, Virginia, is the 23rd patient to receive a face transplant in the world. His doctors at the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center say this operation is the most extensive surgery of its kind because of the extent of the transplant and the placement of an entire set of teeth. “The face will look like a blend of the donor as well as Richard,” said Dr.Eduardo D. Rodriguez, associate professor of surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. “There are some unique features, his nose, the chin that have been replaced in entirety. Other than that, it’s a combination of both individuals.” The hospital did not release details about the anonymous donor, due to the family's request. The family specifically consented to the face transplant procedure. His heart, lungs, liver and kidneys were used to save the lives of five other patients, according to the hospital. The 36-hour operation started at 4 a.m. on March 19 and ended the next day between 2 and 3 p.m. Norris’ new face extends from the top of his head down to his clavicle. The lines between his skin and the donor’s can be seen on his chest and his scalp, but they cannot be seen on his face. The doctors involved in his operation said they concealed the lines as far back as possible and included the teeth so Norris could chew normally. After a gunshot injury in 1997, Norris lost his lips, nose, portions of his mouth and the front portion of his tongue. His tongue fused to the bottom of his mouth and he wore a trachea tube to breathe. Despite receiving several surgeries and reconstructive procedures, he wore a mask to hide his face for the last 15 years. He came to discuss reconstructive options with Rodriguez, chief of plastic, reconstructive and maxillofacial surgery at Shock Trauma in 2005. Chimpanzee attack victim gets new face – CNN.com During surgery, doctors rebuilt his facial structure using the skeletal framework from the donor – including the cheekbones, chin and various tissues, such as blood vessels and muscles. Three days after the surgery, Norris wanted to see a mirror, his doctor said. Texas man gets first full face transplant in U.S. “He was there with his parents,” Rodriguez said. “It was one of the most emotional moments. He put the mirror down and thanked me and hugged me. We’re going to restore the 15 years he lost and make him a functioning member of society.” After the surgery, Norris has been able to open and close his jaws, use his tongue, close his eyes, shave and brush his teeth. The patient is still hospitalized and was not present at the press conference Tuesday. Like all transplant patients, Norris takes drugs to weaken his immune system so his body won’t reject the new tissue. This puts patients at risk to some extent because their immune systems are not as strong and more susceptible to infections. His doctors say because Norris received a transplant that included vascularized bone marrow in the jaw, there is a potential he may not need as much anti-rejection medication as standard patients. But that remains to be seen. “The goal would be never to remove full medication,” said Rodriguez. “Ideally, we can reduce the amount of immune suppression way down the road.”
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Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love.
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All the best to Mr. Norris on his transplant and recovery; I sincerely wish you a good life ahead. And congratulations to the doctors for their hard work, dedication and skills in helping Mr. Norris. Simply amazing.
nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
everyone wins when this procedure works out and we learn more to help others
Dan, how many insurance companies do you think would pay for a "cosmetic" procedure such as this? This gentleman was extremely fortunate to have the opportunity and the means to pay for this surgery.
I was thinking when he grows his hair out, it looks alot like him...good for you...God bless you, and that you still have your whole life ahead for you....live, love , laugh...Amen
Lean6: This is not just cosmetic surgery.
Your comment was reasonable, polite, sincere, and relevant to the story. Apparently you are not aware of the rule that stipulates that all comments on CNN's website must be hateful, inflammatory, political, racist, or include language unfit for civil society. Oh, and misspellings...lots of misspellings.
Lean I hardly think that this was a 'cosmetic' procedure as you suggest. The man had no tongue to speak of of (not a pun) and could not breathe normally. Along with that he has probably not had the opportunity of a full social life and the psychological impact of being disfigured is immense. But, to the main point, no matter how it was funded it is an amazing feat of medical ingenuity.
Sure you all noted my use of quotation marks around cosmetic (?), and the implication about the language that insurance companies use to deny much needed treatment. Surely you did....
He looks amazing. Bless the donor and the doctors.
the photo on the right looks like Snooki. Not sure how much of an improvement this was but, hey, if he's happy, I'm happy.
The baby jesus does not approve of this.
nor does he approve of you being a sick, noncompassionate idiot that you are.....fiction you illiterate fool...it's fiction.
youre definitely a twit
It would make republican Jesus mad
Like you know what Jesus thinks !
I hear you have been telling people what I think about this poor souls face transplant.
and why is that,what kind of immoral act did anyone comit?
Palintwit, you don't know Jesus, do you?
sciense is the works of the devil, go desicrated his body for vanitie
Seems to me that the baby Jesus father (that would be GOD) gave life and brains to the physicians who made this happen.It is indeed a miracle and you are a Fruit cup.
God gave life and brains to Hitler that doesnt make what he did good
God makes the doctors to do such as this..Jesus is love, and if that is your version of Christianty, your a dope.
Is jesus the name of your baby?? Because you are not speaking of my Lord Jesus- 1John 4:7,8 Let us continue to love one another for love comes from God. anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God any one who does not love does not know God for GOD IS LOVE. Read your bible mister or miss religious. You might want to watch out, GOD does not like false prophets!!! And that what you said is very false, sucks to be you
god made bombs, god made aids, god made factory working slaves, god made knives, god made greed, god made night creepers, pimps and thieves.
then why does Jesus hate gays, liberals, women and illegal immigrants?
Only Republicans know what Jesus thinks.
President Santorum LOL...please..he has a much chance as you do of saying something even slightly intelligent....zippo!
This, [pointing at palintwit], is a troll. Know them. Do not speak to them. They are here merely to stir the pot and distract you from the real issue. Please ignore it as it will only get emboldened by attention. Nothing to see here. Move along.
Hey that's my face! I was just napping on a park bench for a few minutes...great...THANKS...man this sucks.
I wouldn't quit your day job if you have one. Comedy is not in your blood.
This is what medicine is really all about. Kudos to all the medical people involved, and lets not forget the donor and their family. You have been given a second chance guy! Go for it.
Absolutely amazing. I would be curious to see what the donors face looked like previous to death. Wonder how much resemblance there is, despite different bone structures.
He obviously has a very strong will to live.
I'm not sure I could have carried on for all those years if I was in his shoes. Congratulations to him, and bravo to the surgeons!
Wonderful to see good news for a change....I hope he has a full recovery....amazing!
Absolutely incredible! Good luck to Mr. Norris – hoping for a bright future! And a thank you to the donor family. A tough decision to be sure, but what an amazing sacrifice to give to this man!
Many thoughts and thanks for the donor and his or her family. Saving 5 lives and essentially making life livable for a 6th person is something amazing!
This brightened up my day considerably. I was considering no longer checking the news as it was always so depressing. To see this is a ray of sunshine. I wish this guy the best in his life and his recovery. I also am in awe at the skill and hard work the doctors put into this. They worked with a lot of care and it shows. And the donor and their family – to know there are such wonderful and selfless folks in the world is surely an uplifting thing to see. I wish we could see more stories like this.
Also looks like the best one ever too..
Truly awesome! It looks like he got rid of the stoma, too, yes? He is fortunate that the donor had a handsome chin and nose. blessings on the donor's family. It must be difficult to see part of your loved one's facial features on another.
I am curious about the gunshot injury. That much damage means a shotgun at close range, generally. And generally that would be self-inflicted, but I don't think he would be a transplant candidate if that were true.
Wow! This is amazing!
Well, he won't be fooling around with guns anymore, will he. And I suppose he will finally throw out that copy of Sarah Palin's crosshairs poster he's had hanging on his wall.
You should go outside and get some fresh air. Find something else to do.
You are one sick son-uv-uhbuck. There, that is about as close as I ever came to calling another human a son of a -itch. God have mercy on you, arrogant fool that you are.
Next they will be doing total head transplants.
With brain? I could think of a few in need....
Wouldn't that be a BODY transplant?
When they do, I hope palintwit is the first one in line!
Everyone shoudl be an organ donor. There's no reason why you'd need any part of your body when you're dead. It can save more than one lives. Thiat donor saved 5 lives and improved the quality of another.
Please do us all a favor ,dont contemplate donating your bain anytime soon
Please do us all a favor ,dont contemplate donating your brain anytime soon
I agree, organ donation is the final act of human compassion and giving that you can leave to the world. Its a fine addition to your legacy.
Not everyone. Not if you have HIV.
As with many of these types of stories, a key element is left out: what is the cost and what sort of health insurance was involved? Tis a miracle, but at what cost and to whom?
Chris, there are, really, there are, people whose first thought is not always the cost of something, or its political impact. Some of us think first about the positive impact of such things.
You look great, Richard... God bless.
That's AMAZING.
These types of gunshot injuries almost always a result of a failed suicide attempt, and inconsistent with "accidental gunshot injury" as described in the article. 100 dollar says the news outlets are hiding this in order to make this more of a feel-good story.
Which is a pity, because 1) it is poor reporting practice and 2) we should still feel very good for this guy he has certainly paid the price.
Maybe he was cleaning his gun and forgot it was loaded?
How can you be so sure that the reporting on this story is inaccurate? Sometimes even Fox gets their facts straight.
The dailymail says he shot himself!
Maybe he got Cheney'd.
Whoa; bitter beer face.
That's totally messed up man...that I know exactly which commercial that you're talking about!
There ARE miracles. Just believe.
To me science is God! science has done amazing things for the mankind.
Believe in Science and Knowledge.
cue the "god is so amazing" "god blessed him" "part of god's plan" etc bullcrap.
This in incredible! I am very happy for this person and wish him all the best.
AMAZING. Best of luck to Richard, well done to the docs & nurses.
This is just absolutey incredible. What an amazing talent his doctors have. To reconstruct someone's face is an art form all its own. Just imagine when his scars heal, and the swelling goes down, You'd never know any different. I can imagine it must be weird psychologically to have someone ele's face, (I lost a ton of weight a few years ago, and even that messed with my head a little when poeple didn't recognize me.. this is in a league of its own) but I hope he adjusts well, and gets out there and conquers HIS world. Congratulations, Richard on your new life.
It's always nice to see a story showing so much courage: the donor for choosing to serve his fellow man even after his passing; the recipient for choosing to go on living for 15 years with a burden that would crush most; and the medical professionals for accepting the tremendous risk to improve someone's life and advance our understanding of a medical frontier. This made my day...
Great!!.. they gave him the face off that rapist the police just took out yesterday at downtown standoff part of Norfolk,VA. Bad move now he will have to register as a sex offender.
I should also mention that actually there are a number of people that have survived self inflicted gunshot wounds and they look eerily similar to this patient. Same "beer face" or 'Popeye'-like features because the gun was aimed from below, aiming straight up towards the chin. But mistakenly angled too far away from the face so that the chin and part of mouth is blown away. Tell me, how could this have been "accidental"?
Maybe he was hunting and dropped his weapon and it discharged upward? Maybe he was cleaning his weapon and didn't check it properly first? Maybe a child was playing with the weapon and he tried to take it away and it went off?
http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/article.cfm?ID=32599
read the article
Can science and God not coexist? From the religious perspective: God gave us our amazing ability to learn and understand, and our curiosity and drive to exceed our own boundaries. The universe, in all its enormity and complexity, is understandable by us, and its order can be expressed with a small set of physical "laws" that interact at all scales of space and time There is a beauty and an exquisite elegance in this order. God could have made a universe that existed and changed only according to his whim, without any recognizable, understandable underlying principles for us to discover. Isn't it a more profound and wondrous, a GREATER universe, for having a rational order? From the scientific perspective: We know much about the universe and we learn more each day. All of science is our attempt to understand HOW the universe behaves and functions. Science cannot answer the question of why. Science can describe gravity as an inverse-square law but it cannot say WHY it follows this formulation. Nothing science discovers can refute the existence of God. Science and religion are not mutually exclusive! And as far as miracles go, in the words of the late Robert Heinlein: "Any technology, sufficiently advanced, would be indistinguishable from magic."
What a bunch of crock! If everything is as if God didn't exist, than there's no need for god at all. Why bring the concept in when it's not needed?
We don't know why, but God is no answer at all.
Because it ISN'T the same. Science cannot say why the universe began. Science cannot even say HOW it began, only how it progressed starting a few milliseconds after the assumed big bang. Look, I myself am a man of science, not religion. But we waste so much time trying to prove each other wrong that it is non-productive to either "side." Besides, the typical God-denying scientist claims to be uber rational and base all of their beliefs on scientific discovery. Perhaps you are among this group. But science cannot actually prove anything. Science is written in the language of mathematics, which is a made-up symbolic system that requires unprovable assumptions. For instance, it is not possible to prove the existence of zero.Go find a number theorist and ask them to prove it. They cannot and they never will be able to. In this way, science is a belief system based upon faith.
Who cares?
You do, apparently, if you went to the trouble to read and reply.
Amazing!
Richard, you are so brave and you look just wonderful. Best of luck to you and your family.
To the family of the donor – bless you! I'm so sorry for your loss.
Amazing what the doctors have done..great talent and patience! Also, kudos to the donor. Good luck with the recovery!!
Samuel R Preston III, your comment is beyond inappropriate. People as insensitive as you truly sicken me.
Guns are awesome
Wow! This is what real plastic surgery is all about; giving someone a new beginning, and not the wasteful body dysmorphic self-mutilation hear so much about. He looks like a winning prizefighter. Brilliant work!
What a wonderful story.
I wish him luck. It looks like the surgery was a success from the pictures shown. Let's hope he makes a full recovery.
god made bombs, god made aids, god made factory working slaves, god made knives, god made greed, god made night creepers, pimps and thieves
Great!.. Just wondering this how they re-created a Dead OSAMA. Possible Huh?
Seems like a prosthetic would be much preferred to a transplant in a cosmetic case like this. He's opening himself up to serious side effects just to achieve a better appearance.
The side affects are fairly minor. People have lived with it for more than 30 years.
From reading the article, he had a pretty horrible existence before the operation, and, second, how in the world could you create a prosthetic face?
Lucky guy. One of the few with this kind of injury that gets to look normal.
Good luck Rick! I hope you make a speedy recovery.
I am so impressed with medical technology these days. This man just got a new life. What a miracle for him.
Why the heck they gotta make me overweight?
i would guess he was incredibly swollen when the picture was taken, but still, horribly insensitive remark
This is an example of the perfect melding of art and science. This kind of an operation requires more that just replacement, it takes the aesthetic vision of the surgeon and his team to sculpt a face from the inside out and give the patient function and restore his self image. This has healed this man's body and spirit. Just think of how wonderful it must be, after 15 years, to go outside and feel the sun on your face. Best of luck to him.
That's the best face transplant I've seen yet. At this stage it looks a bit like he's wearing a mask–so hopefully he will regain muscular control over the face.
absolutely amazing the advances in medicine – 36 hours of surgery makes "extensive" sound like a massive understatement
This is promising– for the Republican race. Rick Santorum gets a head transplant! A new brain!!
Kidding aside, all the best to this patient and congrats to the surgeons.
seriously man? you have got to grow up, this individual has gone through more than either of us could imagine, my heart and soul goes out to Richard whether the wound was self inflicted or not, since 1997 i this man has been struggling to even live, he had a feeding tube man, he endured alot more than what death can bring you. I hope now with this miraculous surgury that this man can finaaly live the live he has always wanted to live. One more thing , if you think you have a rough life im pretty sure there is always someone out there willing to trade you theres, Just live life to the fullest, no regrets, dont stress on the petty bull
lol!!
***The hospital did not release details about the anonymous donor***
I am sorry but the donnor must be in really bad shape after donating his face
This procedure is starting to worry me. Now the rich and criminals really get serious reasons to kill you.
Much more than your wallet.
What about rich women wanting a beauty cure. Get rid of wrinkles and all.
I get so sick of partisan cheerleaders from both sides who inject their idiotic chants into every story. Anybody who thinks that the problem - or the answer - to any issue is in a political party needs much more than a face transplant. He needs a brain transplant.
Now kleptiko - go find some place to play. I came here to read about this young man putting his life back together.
Fantastic story for someone that suffered so much and the pioneers that are making this possible. if our troops can benefit from any of this, what a miracle. Hopefully most of the 'tools' that comment below and make fun of this are under 10 years old.
I am wishing good luck to this young man. He has lived, since 1997, wearing a mask. Can you imagine doing that? I hope that the rest of his life will be better than the last few years. This is so promising for people who have had seriously disfiguring attacks etc. Let's stick to the subject, can we?
I was in jail with Mr. Norris in the New River Valley Regional jail about 9 years ago. If this is the same guy which I'm pretty sure it is(check me if I'm wrong but Hillsville Va, uses that jail for their inmates). His gunshoot was self inflicted over a girlfriend who broke up with him and he sat in his pick up truck and stuck a 30 30 under his chin and pulled the trigger. The recoil blew his head back at the same time saving his life and disfigured him. I have a problem with this only because their are other people out there who didn't intentionally do this to themseves and are in need of the same medical attention. What is wrong with society and people now? Why is it that the media pulls us in a direction that is half ass true and half the facts aren't included. Let's feel sorry for the guy who shot himself in the head and rejoice because he got a new face. PLEASE!!!
***The hospital did not release details about the anonymous donor***
**********************
FYI: The donor was probably dead person.
You are all freakin nuts. 😀
Now gimme your left and right cheek because mine are tired of being sat on.