Delhi AIIMS first in country to announce launch of face transplant programme

The All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, has become the first in the country to announce the introduction of face transplantation, a highly advanced and complex reconstructive procedure.

The Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Burns Surgery at AIIMS has initiated the process of setting up a registry of patients having severe facial deformity along with the loss of vital functions of the face like breathing, mouth opening and blinking and have not benefited despite multiple surgical procedures.

The department is also organising an intensive cadaveric workshop and academic training programme from February 11 to 15 at the Burns and Plastic Surgery Block. As part of the workshop, facial skin was harvested from a brain-dead patient on Thursday.

To lead this advanced training initiative, AIIMS hosted Dr Indranil Sinha, Associate Chief of Plastic Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Harvard Medical School), Boston, an internationally recognised expert in composite tissue allotransplantation and face transplant surgery.

Dr Maneesh Singhal from the Department of Plastic Surgery will lead the programme with other faculty members, Dr Shashank Chauhan, Dr Raja Tiwari, Dr Rajkumar Manas, Dr Shivangi Saha and Dr Aparna Sinha.