Spain authorises third face transplant

[mysteriouza]

All three patients are waiting for a suitable donor before the surgery can be performed

The Health Ministry has authorised a third face transplant to be carried out in Spain, and has given permission for the Vall d’Hebron hospital in Barcelona to perform the procedure. It comes after permission was granted this June for the country’s first two face transplants to be carried out at hospitals in Valencia and Sevilla.

This latest was presented as an urgent case by the Barcelona hospital where the patient concerned suffers difficulties with breathing and swallowing, over-riding, in the opinion of the committee, any aesthetic concerns. El Mundo said the patient has undergone several attempts at surgery to correct the facial deformities.

All three cases are now awaiting a suitable donor before the operation can be performed.

Seven face transplants have been performed worldwide to date: four in France, two in the United States, and one in China.