Face transplant patient recovering

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CANOE -- CNEWS - World: Face transplant patient recovering

Quote:

BEIJING (AP) - A Chinese farmer who received a partial face transplant after he was badly disfigured in a bear attack has been discharged from the hospital and was regaining his health and self-confidence, state media said Saturday.

Li Guoxing, 30, who underwent surgery in Xijing Hospital in the central Chinese city of Xi'an, thanked the doctors and nurses after being released Friday, and said he was "very happy to go home," according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

The state-run Beijing Youth Daily featured a photo of Li arriving in Kunming, capital of the southwestern province of Yunnan, and holding a bouquet of flowers as a group of smiling people welcomed him. His face appeared swollen and stitches were still visible.

Quote:

Li lost almost the whole right side of his face in 2003 after a black bear mauled when he tried to chase it away from his cows with a stick.

On April 14, a team of 15 doctors and three nurses gave him a nose, upper lip, cheek and eyebrow from a brain-dead donor in a 15-hour procedure.

Since then, Li has been doing well and the swelling in his face has gone down, Guo Shuzhong, director of the hospital's plastic surgery department, was cited as saying by Xinhua.

Li now has some facial hair and acne - signs that the transplant has been successful and that the skin is alive, Guo said.

He will likely undergo additional surgery in the coming weeks "to make the right part of his face, his lips and eyes seem more natural," Guo said.

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Image URL: http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2006/07/29/w072901A.jpg

The wonders of modern medicine! Quite amazing.