Face Allotransplantation and Burns: A Review

Burns may represent one of the main indications for face allotransplantation. Severely disfigured faces featuring a devastating appearance and great functional impairments are not only seen as burn sequelae but also occur as a result of other traumatic injuries, oncological surgical resections, beni...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of burn care & research 2012-09, Vol.33 (5), p.561-576
Main Authors: ARNO, Anna, BARRET, J. P, HARRISON, Rachael A, JESCHKE, Marc G
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Burns
Burns - surgery
Dermatology
Face
Facial Transplantation
Humans
Immunosuppressive Agents
Infection Control
Medical sciences
Postoperative Complications - prevention & control
Traumas. Diseases due to physical agents
Citations: Items that this one cites
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Summary:Burns may represent one of the main indications for face allotransplantation. Severely disfigured faces featuring a devastating appearance and great functional impairments are not only seen as burn sequelae but also occur as a result of other traumatic injuries, oncological surgical resections, benign tumors (eg, neurofibromatosis), and major congenital malformations. To date, 20 human face composite tissue allotransplants have been performed with success. Despite the initial scepticism about its applicability, due mainly to ethical and technical reasons, the previous worldwide cases and their associated positive outcomes, including acceptable immunosuppressive regimens, excellent aesthetic and functional results, and good psychological acceptance by the recipient, enable the conclusion that face composite tissue allotransplantation has become another therapeutic strategy in the reconstructive surgical armamentarium, which bears special consideration when dealing with severely disfigured burned patients. The aim of this review is to describe the basics of face composite tissue allotransplantation and give an overview of some of the cases performed until now, with special attention paid to debating the pros and cons of its applicability in burn patients.
ISSN:1559-047X
1559-0488
DOI:10.1097/BCR.0b013e318247eb06