Transplant gives new face, scalp to burned firefighter

[gigantes]

holy moly... this poor guy is coming out of a 14-year journey through hell.

pics not for the squeamish:
http://news.yahoo.com/transplant-gives-face-scalp-burned-firefighter-153049655.html

[AlphaWolf24]

"We were looking for the ideal donor," one who matched Hardison on biological traits to minimize the risk of his body's rejecting the new tissue, as well as things like skin and hair color, said Rodriguez, who by then had moved to NYU Langone.

A year later, Rodebaugh was identified as a potential donor by LiveOnNY, the nonprofit organization that seeks transplant organs and tissue in the New York City area. A native of the Columbus, Ohio, area, he had signed up to donate organs. His mother gave permission to use his face, noting that Rodebaugh had always wanted to be a firefighter, said LiveOnNY president Helen Irving.

The hospital paid for the transplant operation, which included attaching four bone segments to Hardison's skull, as anchors to prevent the face from drooping.

Amazing...when you sit back and think of everything that went into the procedure.

I can only imagine the future and the possibility's of attaching new body parts...

[Draz]

Just happy for the guy. Must of went through hell.