What Has Become of the First Face Transplant Patient?
May 24, 2006 — -- Six months ago, on Nov. 27, 2005, medical history was made when a 38-year-old French woman received the world's first face transplant.
ABC News' Barbara Walters went to Paris to learn more and meet one of the doctors who was part of a team that performed this medical miracle.
Watch the one-hour "Primetime" special on Thursday, May 25, at 10 p.m.
The "Primetime" special will include the ABC News-acquired French documentary that follows Isabelle Dinoire's experience -- from entering the hospital, rehabilitation and an exclusive look at her new face.
Dinoire was a divorced, unemployed factory worker who lived in government housing with two teenage daughters. The eldest, 17, left to live with her boyfriend.
Dinoire was distraught and swallowed a handful of pills that left her unconscious. She awoke to find out that, while unconscious, her nose and lips had been bitten off by her own black Labrador -- which was ultimately euthanized.
It was only when she attempted, in vain, to smoke a cigarette that Dinoire realized she was without half a face. She could barely speak or eat -- the muscles of her cheeks were no longer anchored to those around her lips.
Doctors suggested a partial transplant, and, despite the risks, Dinoire immediately agreed. But time was of the essence.
Five months later, doctors were still waiting for a matching donor. The toughest part of such a transplant is to find a donor with the right tissue, compatible color and quality of skin.
The waiting time was put to good use, though, with intense physiotherapy to try to stem Dinoire's deteriorating condition. As her wounds healed and scarred over, her face was hardening and losing muscle function, making a transplant more difficult.
"Unfortunately time is against us in this regard because she is inevitably losing a little something all the time, that's only logical," said reconstructive surgeon Dr. Cédric d'Hauthuille. "Then another phenomenon that appears after a while is retraction, in other words, a wound tends to close up all by itself.
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