The second partial face transplant has now been successfully performed in China. This patient suffered a mauling injury by a bear apparently. As opposed to the first case report of this (see previous blog entries), there has been little fanfare or media coverage as yet. No outlining of the protocols of the institution performing the procedure have been released as far as I know. Those details of protocols (for selection, surgery, rehab, & immunosuppression) are the deal-breaker for these procedures. If China's past with hand transplants is any lesson, there may be problems. Several of the Chinese hand-transplant patients have reportedly had their hands amputated when the state quit paying for the life-long required immunosuppressive medicines.
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