So if you go and have sex with the donor's wife, will the procedure also keep her from noticing?

CAN SOMEONE TELL BLOGADS TO STUFF THOSE FLASHING BANNERS! For shittsake.

I don't mind the ads so much when it's Ann Coulter popping up.

An interesting story. However note the date. It's been discussed for some time now.

And with just an estimated 50% success rate, I'm not sure what sort of patient would benefit from this procedure [attribution: I'm not in the medical field in any way, and don't really know what I'm talking about.] If you're alive, but disfigured, what would make you take a 50/50 chance at not being alive at all?

Besides...this is sort of Frankenstein-creepy, if you ask me.

And with just an estimated 50% success rate, I'm not sure what sort of patient would benefit from this procedure

Well, it's an estimated 50% success rate. Estimated because it's the first one done on a human.

Presumably, it will eventually be perfected. As it is, taking drugs that suppress your immune system's reaction to the new tissue for the rest of your life is a bummer.

If you're alive, but disfigured, what would make you take a 50/50 chance at not being alive at all?

Because being horribly disfigured sucks really bad. Not being able to smile or frown, etc. And the 50% risk isn't a 50% mortality risk.

Um, the proceedure has a 50% SUCCESS rate, not a 50% SURVIVAL reate. Very different things. They mention in the article that the first guinea pig...ahem, patient...would need to have enough unblemished skin for grafts if the proceedure fails. Meaning they would need further reconstructive surgery, but they'd still be alive.

Um, the proceedure has a 50% SUCCESS rate, not a 50% SURVIVAL reate.

I assume that you are addressing azlibertarian, as I just noted the same thing.

Bill, yeah...I'm just slow. In a general, short-bus and drool cup sort of way. I saw:

"If you're alive, but disfigured, what would make you take a 50/50 chance at not being alive at all?

Because being horribly disfigured sucks really bad. Not being able to smile or frown, etc. "

and somehow completely missed your last sentance. My bad.

As I said, I'm not in the medical field, so I may have much of this wrong. With that said (again), my understanding of this procedure is that they'd remove the disfigured face and replace it with one obtained from a corpse. In other words, should the procedure fail, what would be left of the face? Would not a procedure failure imply a threat to survival?

In all this I'm assuming that if one were alive with a functioning, but badly disfigured face, why would you risk future function for a chance at "re-figurement" [to make up my own word]. A couple of years ago here in Phoenix, a police officer [google up "Jason Schechterle"] was badly burned while on duty. He's the kind of guy I'm imagining here.

Bill--thanks for the response. I've checked your place for quite some time now and have admired your stuff.

And am I the only guy who is flashing to images of Michael Jackson?

And speaking of "my bad", I guess I did completely miss the part about candidates would need enough otherwise healthy skin to start over again should the transplant fail.

Which begs the question: Why isn't using this skin the first choice?

azlibertarian -

In other words, should the procedure fail, what would be left of the face? Would not a procedure failure imply a threat to survival?

Yes, it could be a threat to survival (infection, etc), but it's hardly a 50% threat. What they'd be left with? It's fair to say, "a mess," one that would require replacement skin grafts to cover the exposed tissue after the removal of the rejected donor tissue.

The burned police officer you mention might be a candidate, but there are individuals that are even worse off, with less facial function.

Why isn't using this skin the first choice?

Because molding skin from someone's own leg into the shape of a nose is much harder (and unrealistic looking) than you might think. I don't think that they are talking about duplicating the exact process with the person's own replacement skin if the transplant fails, merely covering the exposed underlying tissue.

This is a tricky procedure, but I'm pretty stoked that brave individuals (including the doctor, who has championed and developed this for a long time - she's brilliant), are willing to move forward with the concept. This is a first big step in eventually perfecting the methodology, giving all sorts of folks like that badly burned cop a second lease on a normal life.