WOW . . . The Nation’s first face transplant patient goes public
46-year-old Ohio woman can smile again with the help of a stranger's face
AP
This is a photo of Connie Culp, after an injury to her face, left, and then as she appears today. Culp underwent the first face transplant surgery in the United States at the Cleveland Clinic last December.
CLEVELAND - Five years ago, a shotgun blast left a ghastly hole where the middle of her face had been. Five months ago, she received a new face from a dead woman.
Connie Culp stepped forward Tuesday to show off the results of the nation’s first face transplant, and her new look was a far cry from the puckered, noseless sight that made children run away in horror.
Culp’s expressions are still a bit wooden, but she can talk, smile, smell and taste her food again. Her speech is at times a little tough to understand. Her face is bloated and squarish, and her skin droops in big folds that doctors plan to pare away as her circulation improves and her nerves grow, animating her new muscles.