Composite Tissue Allotransplantation of the Face: Anatomical and Functional Evaluation

Plain-language summary

In hindsight, the first "face graft" raises the fundamental problem of composite tissue allotransplantation (hand, larynx, abdominal wall, etc.) with the addition of specific technical and philosophical problems. By proposing a prospective study concerning five new patients over the next three years, in the light of this first experience, the authors would like to confirm the surgical feasibility of this type of procedure, possibly extending it to other parts of the face (lateral third) and, like English and American teams, considering the possibility of total facial surface reconstruction. In parallel, and while complying with the usual immunosuppression procedures, the deliberate choice of creating a microchimerism by the infusion of bone marrow stem cells (the origin and quantity of which will need to be determined) will be reaffirmed, in order to improve mucocutaneous tissue tolerance, while confirming the safety of this type of approach. Five new cases will also provide observations for the many new fields of research developing around composite tissue transplants (neurophysiology, skin histopathology, psychiatry, haematology, immunology, etc.).

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