First Face Transplant Done in America

In Cleveland, reconstructive surgeon Dr. Maria Siemionow and a team of specialists performed the first face face transplant done in America by replacing 80 percent of a disfigured woman's face by using the face of a female cadaver. Many details of the surgery have not been released but surgeons that do this usually transplant skin, facial nerves, muscles, and other deep tissue.

Skin is considered an organ and it still runs the risk of the body rejecting it, as with other organ transplants. Recipients of transplants have the risk of deadly complications, such as the new facial tissue attacking the recipient's body and the recipient's body attacking the bone marrow or the transplanted face to cause inflammation at the area of the new tissue. They also have to take immune-suppressing drugs for the rest of their lives to prevent the body rejecting the organ. This raises the risk of cancer and other diseases.

This is the fourth one done worldwide. Two have been done in France and one was done in China. The first one was a partial face transplant done in France in 2005 on a woman who had been mauled by her dog and received a new nose, chin, and lips from a brain-dead donor. Another was done in France on man disfigured by a genetic disease. One was done in China on a farmer that had been disfigured by being mauled by a bear.

Actor Morgan Freeman Doing Well After Car Accident

The actor Morgan Freeman is doing well after the recent car accident that he was involved in. He had surgery done to reconnect nerves and repair damage to his left arm and hand. The surgery was done on Monday night and lasted four and a half hours, which included recovery. He is reportedly doing well and has visited with family members this morning. He is looking forward to being released from the hospital as soon as possible.

The Mississippi Highway Patrol is still investigating the car accident. The accident happened when Freeman was traveling down a rural Mississippi Delta Highway in Tallahatchie County. His vehicle careened off the highway and flipped before landing upright in a ditch. The rescuers had to use a jaws-of-life machine to free him from the damaged vehicle. He was airlifted to the Regional Medical Center where he was treated for a broken arm, broken elbow, and damage to his shoulder.