Who Got the World’s First Face Transplant?

Plastic surgery and face transplant are not the same. Get to know the world’s first face transplant and other interesting facts about it.

World’s First Facial Transplant

Isabelle Dinoire was the first person to get the first partial face transplant in the world. Professor Bernard Devauchelle and his assistants Professor Jean-Michael Dubernard performed the face transplant on the woman at the Center Hospitalier Universitaire Nord in Amine, France. 

First Face Transplant before and after

Isabelle Dinoire before the transplant was an average french mother who lived with her two children and a dog in Valenciennes, France. Her dog had mauled her face, chin, and cheeks after she passed out at midnight due to the consumption of sleeping pills. 

Doctors performed the first facial transplant on Dinoire in November 2005. A triangular tissue from the brain-dead female patient was grafted in place of Dinoire’s nose and mouth. Doctors had also injected bone marrow cells from the donor to avoid tissue rejection. 

Isabelle Dinoire Today

She had to take medicines her entire life after 2 tissue rejection incidents. Dinoire initially felt different with her new face but after one year of surgery, she was able to smile and laugh a little easier than before and had full face sensitivity. She later died of cancer in April 2016 after she lost sensitivity in her lips and her medication made her vulnerable to cancer.  

Why Did Isabelle Dinoire’s Dog Attack Her?

Isabelle had a black labrador cross that was euthanized after the incident. Dinoire’s daughter claims that her mother had tried to attempt suicide and the dog was only trying to wake her up frantically that caused the injuries. 

Though the doctors who had treated her wounds initially declined a suicide attempt, Dinoire later confessed in a telephonic interview about it. She also added that she felt a strong bond with her donor who had also attempted suicide and got a therapy dog to cope. 

Face Transplant on a Man

Dallas Weins of Spain was the first man to get a full facial transplant in 2010 after being shot in the face. Jio DiMeo of New Jersey was the first man to get a full hand and face transplant after he met with a terrible car accident in 2018.