He said the absence of a rejection episode one year later proves soft tissue clinical face transplants can be successful moving forward. It was the first time in 15 years.
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Hardison, a former volunteer firefighter from Senatobia, Mississippi, has no scars on his face, and although he resembles his old self, some of his features are different.
Eventually a church friend of Hardison’s wrote to Dr Rodriguez, who had performed a 2012 face transplant at the University of Maryland Medical Center.
The surgery is part of a transplant revolution in recent years that includes penis transplants in wounded soldiers, the double hand transplant in a young boy, and a uterus transplant in a woman who was unable to bear children.
“I’m here today because I want others to see that there is hope beyond the injury”, he said.
Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez, the lead surgeon, was awarded $2.5 million by the Defense Department to continue working towards face transplant procedures and research.
“I like to say that I’m the same old Pat, but that would not give enough credit to the unbelievable journey that I have gone through over the past year. I’m especially proud to share my story with other injured firefighters, first responders and United States military”, said Hardison.
The improvement that most gratifies Hardison is being able to see clearly (“20-25 vision in one eye and 20-30 in the other”) now that functioning eyelids keep his corneas moist and occasionally even leak a tear.
These surgeries were described mostly as “small revisions” to his new eyelids and lips, and remove a feeding tube from his stomach and a breathing tube from his throat.
Patrick, who has been forced to deal with stares from strangers and fear from his own children, said: “Now I’m just the average guy walking down the street”.
But in August of 2015, doctors at New York University’s Langone Medical Center transplanted another face onto Hardison’s head.
“Pat has been incredibly compliant with his post-surgical regimen, and that has allowed us to expedite his surgical schedule”, Rodriguez said.
He later explained that during the years of agonizing operations and recoveries, he had become addicted to pain-killers, which impacted on his new tire shop.
The hospital said that the next step in Hardison’s recovery is to meet Rodenbaugh’s family.
His surgery was the most extensive face transplant ever.
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The face transplant covered his skull, much of his neck and both ears. She’s given us our life back.
