Facial Transplantation Surgery

Abstract

It is well known that patients with severe facial injuries accompanied by facial disfiguration are vulnerable to a poor quality of life. With the help of facial transplantation, it has become possible to achieve an optimal anatomical reconstruction. As compared to conventional methods, it can provide more desirable functional, aesthetic, and psychosocial outcomes. Face transplantation surgeons need to consider many problems associated with the criteria for selecting patients, techniques for harvesting the donor tissue, prediction of the expected functional outcomes, limitations in obtaining written informed consent for conducting the procedure, evaluation of the post-transplant immunological response and postoperative immunosuppressant requirements, psychological and social outcomes for the patients, and other concerns about funding and ethical issues.

Optimizing the decellularization process of human maxillofacial muscles for facial reconstruction using a detergent‐only approach

“…Surgical reconstruction involves the transfer from muscle from elsewhere in the body in the form of local flaps or free flaps, but this is limited as muscle is a vital tissue (Boukovalas et al, ; Sahovaler, Yeh, & Yoo, ). Such techniques involve significant donor site morbidity including functional loss and volume deficiency (Eun, ). The use of xenografts and allografts can overcome these limitations, but this approach has risks of immune suppression and transmission of disease (Eun, ).…”

“…Such techniques involve significant donor site morbidity including functional loss and volume deficiency (Eun, ). The use of xenografts and allografts can overcome these limitations, but this approach has risks of immune suppression and transmission of disease (Eun, ). Due to these obstacles, material matrices are being developed to restore injured or damaged muscle tissue (Eun, ).…”

“…In the field of tissue engineering, several new materials are being developed to replace multiple tissue types including muscle (Eun, ). One type of scaffold that has shown promise to support cell proliferation, differentiation, and migration are decellularized scaffolds (Song & Ott, ).…”

A Comprehensive Strategy for Reconstruction of a Missing Midface

“… 11 , 12 Recently, FT has also been regarded as an innovation for treating a severely damaged face. 4 , 13 However, considering the complicated surgical procedures, the need for life-long immunosuppression, the meticulous selection of the patient and the donor body, the unsatisfactory mortality rate, and the ethical controversy, 4 , 13 , 14 FT still must overcome many hurdles before it will gain widespread acceptance. In our case, we proposed a comprehensive strategy that involved DO, a free composite tissue graft, orthodontic treatment, orthognathic surgery, implanted prostheses, and rhinoplasty.…”

Stem Cell and Research in Plastic Surgery

“…Recently, several great advances have been made in this field and CTA has gained much popularity as a viable alternative reconstructive option. However, CTA has harmful adverse effects of immunosuppressive agents ( 16 , 17 ). Stem cells can contribute to establish life-long tolerance after transplantation avoiding immunosuppressant systemic toxicity.…”