Horrifically injured gun accident victim shows off results of the most extensive face transplant ever performed
Richard Lee Norris, 37, injured in 1997 in gun accident, was treated by 100-strong team of doctors at University of Maryland in March
By Louise Boyle (Daily Mail, 10/16/2012)
These are the incredible before-and-after pictures of 37-year-old Richard Lee Norris who was given the most extensive face transplant ever performed.
Mr Norris, who was injured in a 1997 gun accident, was pictured seven months after being given a new face, teeth, tongue and jaw in a 36-hour surgery at the University of Maryland Medical Center.
For 15 years, Mr Norris lived as a recluse in Hillsville, Virginia, hiding behind a mask and only coming out at night time. He can now feel his face and is able to brush his teeth and shave. He’s also regained his sense of smell, which he had lost after the accident.
When he shot himself in the face in 1997, Mr Norris lost his nose, lips and most movement in his mouth. He has had multiple life-saving, reconstructive surgeries which also replaced underlying nerve and muscle tissue from scalp to neck. Motor function is now 80 per cent on the right side of the face and 40 per cent on the left.
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