Face transplants could become routine, according to a survey of doctors who have successfully performed three of the revolutionary procedures. Writing in The Lancet, Dr Laurent Lantieri, a French doctor who operated on a man severely disfigured by a genetic disease, says "There is no reason to think these face transplants would not be as common as kidney or liver transplants one day."

As with all transplants, immunosuppressants are needed to keep the recipient's body from attacking the donated face. This appears to be under control. A French patient whose face was chewed by a dog now takes only three pills a day. "That's less than most people with diabetes," said Lantieri.

However, it is still early days, and some doctors are sceptical. There is an increased risk of cancer with anti-rejection drugs and the face might also be destroyed within a few years. Some doctors believe that the future of facial restoration is stem cells, for which there is little risk of rejection.

A transplant surgeon in the UK, Peter Butler, comments in the London Times that the risks of the surgery are worth it, from the patient's point of view. There are an estimated 250,000 people in the Uk with severely disfigured faces. “When assessed by people who do not have severely disfigured faces, these risks would be perceived as unacceptable,” he says. “Most patients with severe facial injury who seek this type of surgery, however, have a poor quality of life. Some even state that what they have is not a life but an existence.” He points out that the three patients who have had face tranplants have coped remarkably well with their new appearance, confounding predictions that they would have psychological problems. ~ AP, Aug 21