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As part of a medical procedure paid for by the U.S. military, 25-year-old Dallas Wiens has the first successful full face transplant in the United States. Previously, other facial transplants have taken place, but they didn’t involve the full gamut of nose, lips, skin, muscle and nerves that Wiens received during the 15-hour operation in March.
Many of the man’s features had been burned away when he hit a power line but said he’s adapted to his new face extremely well.While Wiens remains blind, he is now able to smell and breath from his nose – something he hasn’t been able to do since his accident.
The Department of Defense is hoping that it will be able to use the findings from the transplant to aid in the creation of treatments for soldiers with facial wounds that are considered severe. The Pentagon is the country’s leader when it comes to funding research on facial transplants. Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and The Cleveland Clinic have received millions of dollars to fund face transplants. The doctors and researchers that are involved in the surgeries are contributing to a collective knowledge that will help soldiers that have been disfigured in combat – some of them so much so that existing procedures were of little use.
Earlier this year, the military identified its first candidate from the ranks of the enlisted to be considered for a facial transplant. The procedure is still considered experimental, so the military has moved with caution, but with the success of Dallas Weins’ transplant, there seems to be some eagerness to help the men and women in uniform.
