Face Transplant of Richard Norris Considered as Most Extensive Facial Transplant in History

Richard Norris underwent a face transplant last week after 15 years since his accident occurred, which is being considered the most extensive among all the face transplants in history.

Norris: Before and After Face Transplant Photo

In 1997, Richard Norris, then 22, suffered a gun shot which took his lips, his nose and the front portion of his tongue. According to the doctors of University of Maryland Medical Center, the damage done to his jaw left him with limited mouth mobility and gave the appearance that his face had sunken into itself.

Last week, on March 19 and 20, 2012, Norris, now 37, underwent a 36-hour face transplant surgery at Maryland Shock Trauma Center which is considered as the most extensive face transplant in history. Aside from his new face, he also has new teeth, a new tongue and a completely new set of jaws, all from one anonymous donor.

According to Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez who led the medical team involved in the face transplant procedure, Norris has been recovering much faster than anyone could have expected. Three days after the operation, Norris looked in the mirror. He had a nose. He could move his tongue. He would no longer need a mask.

In addition, after a week, Norris is also learning to control his tongue and facial muscles, regaining feeling in his face, and has already resumed shaving and brushing his teeth. Norris’ full face transplant is the first in the US in which the patient retained his eyesight and reacquired his sense of smell.

Norris was chosen as the first facial transplant candidate after meeting Eduardo Rodriguez, a dentist and surgeon at UMMC, in 2005. “Everything went off without a hitch. It was just a beautiful event.” Rodriguez said of the procedure, which involved more than 150 doctors, nurses and UMMC staff members.