The World's First Partial Face Transplant

In November 2005, Isabelle Dinoire had the world's first face transplant in France, undergoing a 15 hour operation. Surgeons replaced her nose, lips, and chin using tissues from a brain-dead donor. This is one of the most difficult procedures and it changed the world of surgery. Not only is this surgery difficult to perform, but people who need this surgery often have mental trauma, typically suffering from bullying and facial insecurity.

Before her groundbreaking surgery, Isabelle suffered a lifelong insecurity that became worse after her accident. Years of struggling to accept herself turned into something far worse. In May 2005, she suffered severe depression that led her to take “an overdose of sleeping pills in an attempt to end her life” (Lanchin). She woke up in a pool of blood with injuries so bad that doctors immediately ruled out a face reconstruction. In order to successfully complete the surgery, surgeons carefully removed the damaged parts of her face – her nose, lips, and chin – and replaced them with matching tissues from the brain-dead donor. 

In the 15 hour operation, surgeons first connected the donor's skin arteries and veins to Isabelle's blood supply so it would stay alive. Then, they stitch together the muscles, nerves, and skin to restore movement and sensation. Finally, they shaped the transplanted tissue to fit her face, ensuring function for speaking, eating, and expressing emotions. After her transplant, Isabelle Dinoire was determined to rebuild her life, mainly focusing on relearning how to eat and speak. One of her personal goals was to “want to be able to kiss again” (Chrisafis). This surgery returned the basic abilities she lost and restored the possibility of social connection. While adapting to her new face was unsettling for her, she also admitted that accepting the inside of someone else's mouth was difficult. This surgery sounds simple, but for Isabelle, it changed her life.

Written by Malak Ibrahim at Incisionary

APA References

NBC News. (n.d.). [Image]. NBC News. Retrieved August 14, 2025, from https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna5122174

Author unknown. (n.d.). Isabelle Dinoire: Life after the world’s first face transplant. BBC News Magazine. Retrieved August 14, 2025, from https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-20493572

Chrisafis, A. (2016, September 6). Woman who received the world’s first partial face transplant dies. The Guardian. Retrieved August 14, 2025, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/06/woman-who-received-worlds-first-partial-face-transplant-dies-isabelle-dinoire