Link of the day: Story of a girl who underwent a face transplant
IN THE RUBRIC "LINK OF THE DAY" We recommend materials from other publications on topics that deserve attention.
Robb, Alesia and Robert look at Katie's new face while she is under anesthesia in intensive care. Standing at the head of the bed, they whisper about her appearance. According to Alesia, Katie looks very good, the edema is not as strong as she expected. And yet she wonders: "Where is Kathy?"
An Unprecedented Look at a YOUNG WOMAN'S FACE TRANSPLANT, National Geographic
Today we offer to read National Geographic Longride - the story of twenty-two-year-old Mississippi resident Katie Stubfieldfield, who underwent a full face transplant operation. At the age of eighteen, Kathy tried to commit suicide, but she survived — however, most of her face remained crippled. In the period from 2014 to 2017, Katie underwent twenty-two operations to restore her appearance, and on May 4, 2017, the doctors performed a full face transplant. Kathy became the youngest patient of this kind in the United States.
Previously, the person belonged to a woman named Adrea, who died due to an overdose: Grandma Adria, Sandra, who said that she really wanted to help Kathy, made the difficult decision to donate. The operation lasted more than thirty hours: first, the doctors at the Cleveland Clinic planned to perform a partial transplant, but during the operation they came to the conclusion that the result would be better if a full transplant was performed, although this increases the risk of tissue rejection. Katie's parents, Alessia and Robb, agreed - according to them, Katie would like that.
More than a year has passed since the day of discharge. The girl continues to take immunosuppressive drugs that reduce the risk of rejection of transplanted tissue, and she is undergoing therapy and plans to go to college. According to Kathy, she is happy that life has given her a second chance, and now she wants to help others. Find out more about Katy’s story from the documentary.