Ocrea

Hey Dr.Gastman, I highly appreciate the time you're taking to do this AMA. I have several questions about the transplant you recently performed.

1. From a psychiatric/psychological perspective how does the facial transplant/new appearance affect the patient? Have those been studied before?

2. Will the transplant change the voice of the patient, considering the shape of the mouth is being altered?

3. What newer developments allowed for this procedure to happen now? To clarify, why didn't the patient undergo this procedure earlier?

4. What determines whether a face transplant succeeds or not? What things do you look for in a prospective donor to find a match?

5. Last question, I promise. Will the patient have full control over her facial expressions? Will her cranial nerves and muscles be intact/regrow, considering the possible atrophy from disuse over a span of 3 years since injury?

6. I lied. How did the anesthesiologists deal with intubation during surgery considering you were dealing with a maxillofacial surgery?

Thank you Dr. Gastman, and the entire team for the great work that you've done!

Thank you Dr. Gastman for the quick response. Another question, how does this surgery bode for patients with deformities that are nontraumatic? Patients with facial birth defects for example?

What would push this type of surgery into mainstream practice?