Connie Culp was the victim of a failed murder-suicide attempt in September 2004, by her husband Thomas Culp. Culp was shot in the face and sustained a shattered cheek, eye, jaw, lip and nose. Her husband then preceded to shoot himself in the face, in an attempted suicide. Culp underwent the first-ever U.S. face transplant, at the Cleveland Clinic, on December 10, 2008.ABC: Face transplant recipient... (May 5, 2009)
Culp appeared before cameras for the first time on May 5, 2009, to publicly thank both her doctors and the donor's family.ABC News: ...Transplant Patient Appears Before Cameras (May 5, 2009) In an interview on Good Morning America, on May 8, 2009, Culp said she forgave her husband "the day he did it" and said she still loves him.ABC7: Face Transplant Patient Talks with GMA (May 8, 2009)
The Surgery
Culp received 80% of the organ donor's face, after the surgeons removed previous surgical implants from the prior reconstruction attempts. The are confident that Culp will regain the ability to smile, when the facial nerves regenerate. Culp faces additional surgeries to remove excess tissue that the surgeons added, in case a portion of the face was rejected.
References
Fast Facts
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Age at shooting
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Age at transplant
46
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Needed a tracheotomy so she could breathe
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Was the fourth person in the world to receive a face transplantCleveland.com: Cleveland Clinic face transplant... (May 5, 2009)
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Was blinded by the gunshot blast
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Had 27 surgeries prior to the face transplant
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Husband was sentenced to a prison term, that is slated to end in 2012
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Surgery was performed by a team, led by Dr. Maria Siemionow, over a two-day time period
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Must take drugs daily to prevent her body from rejecting the face
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Has two children
