Full face transplant in Barcelona is a world first

Doctors in Spain have successfully completed the world’s first full face transplant on a man injured by a gunshot to the face five years ago.

The team of 30 doctors transplanted the entire face, including cheek bones and teeth in a mammoth operation that took over 22 hours.

The patient was shot in the face five years ago and was left unable to breath, swallow or talk properly and was severely disfigured.

He had undergone nine other reconstructive surgery operations, but they were all unsuccessful at restructuring his damaged face.

The full face transplant was actually undertaken in March of this year, but the hospital at which it was conducted, Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, have only released details of the operation now.

The man, who is currently recovering at the hospital in Barcelona, has apparently seen his face in a mirror since the operation and is pleased with the result.

There have been ten other face transplants, but this operation was the most ambitious and most complex, and has been hailed by the medical world as a great achievement. (Picture courtesy Vall d'Hebron University Hospital).