| Second face transplant, First of China |
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A Chinese, whose face was badly spoiled after an attack by a black bear, was recovering today after receiving a partial face transplant on Friday.
Li Guoxing, 30, who had been assaulted and disfigured by a black bear while hunting in the southern province of Yunnan two years ago, had two thirds of his face mostly on the right side replaced in an operation that lasted 14 hours and ended on Friday morning.
The Hospital statement described the latest medical procedure as a first for China. The procedure was performed in Xijing Hospital - situated in the east suburb of ancient cultural city -- Xi’an City, China.
The first Affiliated Hospital to the Fourth Military Medical University - Xijing Hospital said on its website that it had performed the surgery after two years of preparation. It said yesterday that it had performed the world’s second face transplant.
The partial face transplant done after the six months of the same procedure executed by the doctors in Amiens, France, who performed the world’s first such procedure, transplanting lips, a chin and a nose on to a woman- Isabelle Dinoire, 39, of Valenciennes, north France, who had been attacked by a dog.
Han Yan, deputy director of the plastic surgery department in hospital, said, "The surgery is even more complex than the first face transplant in France in November last year."
The hospital performed the surgery free of charge after learning of the patient’s predicament and his impoverishment. Guo Shuzhong, director of the plastic surgery department, who performed the transplant, informed that Li is recovering satisfactorily.
As per the statement from Xijing Hospital- a military hospital, Li Guoxing was given a new cheek, upper lip, nose, and an eyebrow from a single donor. No details were given about the donor. Guo said that the donor was male and had been declared brain-dead before the operation.
William Hsiao, a health economist at Harvard University who researches Chinese public health, said, "China always has a group of people who like to be on the cutting-edge of scientific development."
Throughout the past decade, the government has poured money into advanced scientific fields, from aerospace to biotechnology, directing grant money and pooling resources to create research centers to rival the West. China is only the third country with a successful manned space programme, and its gene research has won international praise.
Chinese and foreign experts have previously blamed the government for lenient inadvertence of research and said the push for breakthroughs was creating ethical problems. The government compressed the regulations on research and clinical trials after Chinese reporters accused a US-funded project of conducting research on asthma medication without the appropriate consent of farmers in central China in the 1990s.
A series of photographs was released by the hospital. One photograph showed the extent of Li’s injuries, his right eye nearly closed and the cheek and lip badly ripped exposing pink flesh in one. One more photograph showed Li after the operation, lying with a tube in his mouth, his face puffy and with surgical scars running from his lower left ear above his nose to his right ear and around his chin.
Hospital authorities claimed that, "Up to now, the patient is in good condition, the operation was successful. It is predicted that the wounds can be healed within one week." However, it will take six months for feeling to be restored to the new face. The patient is also needed to overcome psychological and ethical problems.
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Geneva -- The UN health agency on Friday has issued a statement saying that there is a global shortage of health workers. "The Global population is growing, but the number of health workers is stagnating or even falling in many of the places where they are needed most." said Mr. Lee Jong-wook, Director General of the World Health Organization.
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Mumps - a viral infection epidemic is sweeping across Iowa State in the United States’ biggest outbreak in at least 17 years, frustrating health officials and distressing parents.
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