Recovery of sensation after facial transplantation is similar to, or even better than, that achieved by conventional surgery to repair nerve injuries, reports a study in the May issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

Surprisingly, recovery of the sense of feeling in the transplanted face is “improved and accelerated” even when the nerves responsible for sensation aren’t reattached. “Face transplantation is the only clinical condition where, in the absence of sensory nerve repair, good functional outcome is achieved despite severe trauma causing soft tissue and sensory nerve damage,” according to the new study, led by plastic surgeon Dr. Maria Z. Siemionow of the Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Siemionow lead the team that performed the first near-total face transplant procedure in the United States in 2008.

Surprising Results Lend Insight into Sensory Recovery after Face TransplantResearchers analyzed published data on recovery of sensation in four patients who underwent facial transplantation, and compared the results with sensory recovery after various standard nerve repair techniques.

Just one of the four face transplant recipients underwent direct repair of the sensory nerves. In the other three cases, it was impossible to reconnect the nerves because of technical difficulties or the severity of the patient’s injuries.

The study reports all four patients regained sensation in the transplanted face, starting as early as two weeks after surgery. By the end of the first year, all had normal or near-normal sensory function. The extent of recovery was similar to that achieved with simple repair of injured sensory nerves in the face—and even better than that of grafting procedures where tissues are transferred to the face from different areas of the body without reconnecting the nerves.

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