- Isabelle Dinoire
Isabelle Dinoire, born 1967, was the first person to undergo a partial
face transplant , after herLabrador dog mauled her in May 2005. Prior to the operation, she could barely eat or speak, but after the operation, she can do both.Personal life
Dinoire lives in
Valenciennes , northernFrance . She is divorced and has two teenage daughters.According to "
The Australian ", she has signed a contract with British documentary makerMichael Hughes that could make her more than £100,000 from the sale of photographs and afilm of the operation.Mutilation incident
Some reports claim that her daughter said that the black Labrador cross (named Tania) was trying to wake Dinoire after she took
sleeping pills in asuicide attempt . The hospital denied this. However, in a statement made onFebruary 6 2006 , Dinoire admitted that "after a very upsetting week, with many personal problems, I took some pills to forget ... I fainted and fell on the ground, hitting a piece of furniture." [ [http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article343723.ece The Independent] "Face transplant recipient Isabelle Dinoire faces the world" Published: 07 February 2006 ]The family is sure that the dog, which has since been put down, mutilated Isabelle by accident. They believe that the damage was caused when the dog, finding she wouldn't wake up, got more and more frantic, and began scratching and clawing her. [ [http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005560152,00.html The Sun] "Make me pretty again" , Friday, September 28, 2007]
Partial face transplant
The world's first ever partial
face transplant surgery on a living human was performed on Dinoire onNovember 27 2005 by ProfessorBernard Devauchelle the surgeon who performed the first successful partial face transplant assisted by ProfessorJean-Michel Dubernard inAmiens ,France . A triangle of face tissue including the nose and mouth was taken from abrain-dead female donor and grafted onto the patient. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4484728.stm BBC article, 2005] ] [ [http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/11/30/051130163131.b6enuyf7.html Nov. 30, 2005 article] ] "Scientists elsewhere have performedscalp andear transplants. However, the claim is the first for a mouth and nose transplant. Experts say the mouth and nose are the most difficult parts of the face to transplant." [ [http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/11/30/europe/web.1130face.php IHT article, Nov. 30, 2005] ]A debate over the ethics of the operation emerged, however, after it was alleged that Dinoire's face had been ravaged by her labrador while she was asleep after attempting
suicide by excessive consumption ofsleeping pill s; and that her donor, Maryline St. Aubert, 46, had herself committedsuicide byhanging . Concern was raised over Dinoire's ability to consent to the transplant, considering her mental state. Dubernard strenuously denied that Dinoire had attempted suicide, while Devauchelle insisted he would not have conducted the transplant if he had known that St. Aubert had hanged herself, as he feared theblood vessel s in her face would be damaged. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/14/science/14face.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1134645099-WcGwi34XAEX/+8Gq3Riw1Q New York Times article dated December 14, 2005] ]Recovery
Whether the challenging surgery will be proven successful in the long run is yet to be seen. It was reported on
January 18 , 2006 that Dinoire has used her new lips to continue smoking, which doctors fear will cause the face tissue in her transplant to be rejected. [ [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10912182/ MSNBC article, January 2006] ]There has been a change in her appearance. Her original face had a wide, tilted nose, a prominent chin and thin lips. The donated face has given her a straight and narrow nose, a neater chin and a fuller mouth. Dinoire appeared in a press conference on
February 6 , 2006, which showed that she had partial control over the transplanted muscles, although she appeared unable to close her mouth fully.Exactly one year following the partial face transplant, Dinoire stated she has the ability to smile again. On
November 28 , 2006, Dinoire's surgeon,Bernard Devauchelle , said that over the past year Dinoire’s scars have become far less prominent. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6190612.stm BBC article, 2006] ]Associated Press released a picture of Isabelle Dinoire on November 28, 2006, one year after the operation. The French newspaper "Le Monde" website explained on
December 2 , 2006 that Associated Press had eliminated the picture, because "The hair of Isabelle Dinoire and the background of this image were manipulated by the source."For the two year anniversary, her doctors published an article in the
New England Journal of Medicine detailing her operation and recovery. Complications have includedkidney failure and two episodes of tissue rejection, which have been suppressed by drugs. Dinoire will have to take the drugs the rest of her life, raising the question of whether she can do so reliably; a Boston doctor said if she stopped, it would be a "disaster", with the new face sloughing off over time. [ [http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Cosmetic/wireStory?id=3991217 ABC News article on two-year anniversary] ]
=:"Note: Some of the images below are graphic and may be considered disturbing."
* [http://img.timeinc.net/people/i/2006/news/060206a/idinoire.jpgPreoperative, premauling image of Isabelle Dinoire]
*Warning: Graphic image - [http://www.welt.de/multimedia/archive/00264/dinoireneupa_DW_Wis_264029a.jpgPost-mauling, pre-transplant image of Isabelle Dinoire]
* [http://www.brabantsdagblad.nl/multimedia/archive/00070/No_name_70787h.jpgPostoperative image of Isabelle Dinoire]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/health_enl_1164710172/img/1.jpgImmediately postoperative image of Isabelle Diniore compared with one year later]References
External links
* [http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-transplant-face.html Reuters article, Dinoire gets her smile back December 12, 2007]
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