Woman who received the first face transplant in the US dies

Connie Culp, the woman who received the first nearly complete face transplant in the United States in 2008, died at the age of 57, according to a report from the clinic that performed the procedure collected this Saturday by local media.

“We are saddened by the loss of Connie Culp,” the Cleveland Clinic posted on her Twitter account, assuring that this woman “was an inspiration to everyone.”

Culp underwent a complicated surgical operation that lasted more than 22 hours in December 2008, in which a multidisciplinary group of doctors participated, led by Dr. María Siemionow, of the Cleveland Clinic, in the state of Ohio.

Specialists reconstructed 80% of the woman’s face, which suffered serious facial injuries and lacked a nose, palate and right eye, with that of a deceased donor.

Also, she was unable to eat or breathe normally and had to be assisted with a respirator through a hole in the trachea.

Initially, his identity and the reasons for his injury remained anonymous.

This Saturday the media recalled that she lost part of her face after her husband shot her in 2004.

“Her strength was evident in the fact that she had been the longest-lived face transplant patient to date,” Frank Papay, head of the Cleveland Clinic’s Institute of Dermatology and Plastic Surgery, said in a statement. that accompanies the publication of the medical center in the social network.

The specialist considered her a “great pioneer” and stressed that her decision to “undergo a sometimes discouraging procedure is a lasting gift for all humanity”.

CNN reported that Cleveland Clinic spokeswoman Andrea Pacetti said Culp, who was 57 years old and had become an advocate for organ donation, died last Wednesday of complications from an unrelated infection. transplant.

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