57-year-old Connie Culp, the first person who underwent a face transplant in the United States, has passed away from an unrelated infection more than a decade after the pioneering operation.
Connie was shot in the face by her husband, Tom Culp, before the man attempted to take his own life back in 2004. Following the failed murder-suicide attempt, the husband was jailed for seven years whereas Connie was left with a severely disfigured face.
In the years that followed, Connie underwent thirty surgeries whereas her doctors attempted to reconstruct her cheekbones using a part of her ribs. They also utilized a part of her leg bone to recreate the woman’s upper jaw.
Despite all the operations, including countless skin grafts, Connie was unable to smell, breathe, or eat on her own until a groundbreaking face transplant that took place in 2008.
In December that year, Connie became the first person in the US, and the fourth in the world, to receive a new face donated by Anna Kasper.
During the extensive 22-hour operation, the team lead by Dr. Maria Siemionow replaced 80% of Connie’s face. Though her speech was still difficult to understand after the surgery, Connie was finally able to smile, talk, and eat on her own again.
“She’s smiling, she’s perfect. When she jokes, she kind of flickers her eyes. Her face is vivid. You can see emotions,” Dr. Siemionow previously said.
Sadly, however, the 57-year-old brave woman passed away on Wednesday from an unrelated infection according to the Cleveland Clinic.
“Her strength was evident in the fact that she had been the longest-living face transplant patient to date,” Dr. Frank Papay, the chair of the clinic’s dermatology and plastic surgery department, expressed in a tribute following Connie’s death.
“She was a great pioneer and her decision to undergo a sometimes-daunting procedure is an enduring gift for all of humanity.”
Replaced!