Chimp attack victim's face 'looks fantastic' after historic transplant ; For the past two years, Charla Nash has veiled her face to cover the damage from a vicious attack by her friend’s pet chimpanzee that left the Connecticut mom blind in both eyes and without a nose, ears or lips. The chimp also tore off both of Charla’s hands. Now, thanks to a ground-breaking transplant surgery, Charla has gotten a new face. In a grueling, 20-hour operation, 14 surgeons from Brigham and Women’s Hospital gave Charla a donated face and two hands.
When the surgery was over, Charla’s brother and daughter Briana went to visit her in recovery and saw her new face for the first time.
“She looks fantastic,” Briana told TODAY’s Ann Curry in an exclusive interview. “You’d never believe something like that could be done. She looks just like everyone else. It was so good to see she can have an experience just like everyone else. I’m just so excited for her to learn to use it and let it become part of her life.” Because doctors transplanted not only a face, but also two hands at the same time, Charla’s surgery was a medical first in the United States. Unfortunately Charla developed a lung infection which led to low blood flow to her new hands, and they had to be removed. But her doctors say they can try again when new donor hands become available. Read More
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