The U.S. woman who received a full face transplant will deal with unique challenges as she learns to adjust emotionally to her new face, says a psychologist.
Charla Nash, who was mauled by a chimpanzee, revealed her new face to the world Thursday through the hospital where she underwent the transplant surgery. The photos show a remarkable transformation, including a smooth new nose, mouth and chin for the 57-year-old.
Nash was mauled in February 2009, after the chimpanzee belonging to a friend and neighbour attacked, ripping off her hands, nose, lips and eyes. The animal was eventually shot and killed by police.
Nash was left permanently blind and with only a small opening where her mouth once was. She has been living in a Boston-area nursing home ever since the attack.
In late May, she underwent a full face transplant in Boston. She received a full face, hard palate and upper teeth from an unnamed deceased woman.
Nash developed severe complications after the surgery and was kept heavily sedated until late June. She is still recovering, but agreed Thursday to show off her new face.
Halifax clinical psychologist Dr. Pierre Faubert says even after Nash completes her physical recovery, the mental adjustment she will need to be make will likely be more emotionally difficult than it would be for other kinds of transplants, because our faces are so much a part of our identities.
"Our face is probably the most important, non-verbal, organ of communication that we have. It's our identity," Faubert told CTV's Canada AM Friday.
"…It's also, I would say, an evolving sculpture. Our faces are etched with the experiences of our lives."
Faubert says losing one's face brings not only physical pain and psychological trauma, it also brings the pain of losing a part of ourselves that so defines who we are.
"Maybe the fear of losing one's identity is even more difficult that the fear of losing one's life, because now you have to live with this new identity that you haven't really chosen," Faubert said.
Nash will never be able to see again, so she has little idea how her mauled face looked to the world, nor how her new face looks or how different it is from her old face.
But Faubert says the reaction of those closest to Nash will probably guide Nash's sense of self.
"How her family reacts will impact immensely on how she will accept herself as this person with a new appearance," he says.
Faubert says while all of us are more than just our faces, "we live in a society where… success is determined very much by how we look.
"Our face is part of our identity but it is not our only identity. We have our personality that is hidden behind our face. And eventually, that will come out and that is what people will ‘see'," he said.
Doctors are hopeful Nash will eventually develop more control over her facial muscles over the next several months. She should also be able to breathe through her nose and develop her sense of smell and taste.
Nash also underwent a double hand transplant along with the face transplant in May, but doctors later had to remove the hands because she developed pneumonia and kidney failure, which led to "circulation issues" with the hands.
Nash said in a statement Thursday that she looks forward to doing things she once took for granted.
"I will be able to smell. I will be able to eat normally. I will no longer be disfigured. I will have lips and will speak clearly once again. I will be able to kiss and hug loved ones. I am tremendously grateful to the donor and her family."
The neighbour who owned the chimp that attacked Nash died last year of an aneurysm. Nash's family is suing her estate for US$50 million. They also plan to sue the state of Connecticut for $150 million, saying state officials failed to prevent the attack.
