First Face Transplant in Spain
First Face Transplant in Spain
On September 18th, Prof. Pedro Cavadas and Dr. Luis Landin, founding members of the ASRT, have performed a composite mandible/tongue lower face allotransplantation.
The recipient was a Spanish 42 year old man who has suffered from mandible and tongue necrosis due to radiation therapy for tongue epidermoid carcinoma ten years ago. He had undergone 6 unsuccessful reconstructive surgeries outside of Spain and no option for reconstruction with autologous tissue were left.
Upon transplantation, the graft common carotid vessels were anastomosed to the recipient’s subclavian artery and added intra-allograft shunts. Venous drainage was achieved through the internal and external jugular veins. For innervation, hypoglossal, lingual, inferior alveolar nerve and lower branches of the facial nerve were reconstructed. Basiliximab was used for induction and triple-drug immunosuppression for maintenance. The patient has recovered well and is currently doing fine.
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