Isabelle Dinoire, from Valenciennes, northern France, was the recipient of ground breaking face transplant surgery in November 2005 after her face was badly mauled by her pet Labrador.
But three years on from that momentous occasion she admits to an uncertainty concerning whose face she sees when she looks in the mirror.
“Before the operation, I expected my new face would look like me but it turned out after the operation that it was half me and half her(the donor).” She told French reporter Vanessa Pontet, adding that even three years on she is still having trouble coming to terms with her new features.
“It takes an awful lot of time to get used to someone else’s face. It’s a peculiar type of transplant.”
Miss Dinoire’s psychological difficulties will be troubling British surgeons who have only just been given permission by the NHS board of ethics to carry out the world’s first ever full face transplant. Because face transplants are not a life saving operation the board of ethics has always been hesitant to grant permission for their availability.
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