Geek Cool:

New Medical Frontiers

'Tis I, Boudicca again... posting while Jack is still out and about in Paris.

The Cleveland Clinic has been approved to perform the first face transplant, should it present itself at the proper time. It was bandied about with 10 months of ethical, psychological issues and medical debate, finally being announced in Mid-October, when I first read of it. The CC said it may not happen in our life or it may happen sooner than anyone expects. This will not be an impulsive decision on anyone’s part, to embark on such a surgery.

I have been giving this great thought. If I were a burn victim or had suffered some horrible disfigurement I know I could not be the one to say, “Yes, please, I want this”. I am not being flippant. You see, I am not a risk taker. There are different types of people in this world and I need stability and assurance. I know this about me. I hated something as simple as dating; I like being in a stable relationship with a stable man. Dating was risky. When space travel was being explored, I would not have signed up. I don’t enjoy flying, let alone letting a team of scientists hurl me into space. So I know that I am not the type of person that would step up to the plate of a new surgery, something as truly invasive as the first face transplant.

At first blush it seems odd, does it not? I read that they intend to keep the muscle structure intact so as to keep the original face appearance of the patient...the patient will not look like the donor. But so much runs through my mind… There is only a 50% chance of success. What happens if the body ‘rejects’ the new face? What is underneath? Surely there is some contingency plan. Is the patient even more disfigured after a facial rejection? And how is the face prepared? It sounds as if all tissue is removed down to the muscle. For tissue to stay alive, does it not need blood flow? I can’t comprehend how they’ll get past that hurtle.

Will the new transplant be able to heal itself if scratched? Will it bruise? Will it age? I would think there would be no facial hair, no eyebrows and eyelashes and if for a man, no beard. I imagine plastic surgeons can make it the ‘right’ fit as plastic surgery has come such a long long way. But would that not be odd to have a 50 year old man with a 20 year old face? Or vice versa? Will the skin burn? Will it be more sensitive to the sun? And can it break out in rashes? Will it freckle?

And trust me, these are just a few of my questions. I find the entire possibility absolutely amazing and I am continually surprised and excited by the new paths I see medicine take, but I am the type that must be a bystander and I am in awe of those who can throw caution to the wind and be a great explorer of new frontiers.