Texas Man Receives First American Full-Face Transplant

A Texas man underwent a miraculous full face transplant last week to become only the third person in the U.S. to receive the groundbreaking medical procedure.

Dallas Wiens, a 25-year-old father from Fort Worth, underwent the intensive procedure in Boston last week, the city's Brigham and Women's Hospital said Monday.

"Today's tremendous news marks a new milestone in Brigham and Women's legacy in transplant surgery," Hospital President Dr. Betsy Nabel said.

"The pioneering achievement accomplished by the entire transplant team is a gift made possible by the most selfless act one human being can do for another: organ donation."

The procedure took about 15 hours and included a team of more than 30 doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists, residents.

"This remarkable, anonymous gift is another example of the life-affirming power of organ and tissue donation," said Richard Luskin, president and CEO of New England Organ Bank.

Wiens suffered severe burns when his head touched a high-voltage wire in November 2008.

He has no memory of the incident. The contractor was helping his brother and uncle paint a church when, while high above the ground on a boom lift, he hit a power line.

"I'm told I lost control of the lift and ended up moving directly into the power lines," he said.

The accident left him in a coma for three months.

Doctors at the time were able to transfer skin and muscle from

Wiens' back and thighs onto his charred skull, but they could not restore his lips or nose. The incident left him blind.

He has had nearly two dozen operations since.

"I do miss my sight," Wiens said last year. "But I miss the sensation of my face and my sense of smell the most."

The hospital approved him for the face transplant in October.

"I'm a little nervous, as you can expect, with any major procedure like this," he said before the operation. "I'm extremely excited over the possibility of just having a normal life back."

Weins had no health insurance at the time of the accident. Medicaid covered his costs initially, but eventually it dropped him when his disability payments put him over its income limits.

The Department of Defense will pay for the cost of surgery, he said. It's underwriting the transplant with the hope of eventually being able to help soldiers with severe facial injuries.