Tackling the controversy about face transplants and judging their worth isn't easy, even if it's a qualitative assessment as the following will be. A registry of all transplant patients promises to allow a more quantitative assessment in the future. In my last blog, I did say that—no matter the judgment—facial transplants strike me as a better use of scarce surgical skills and resources than the endless tummy tucks and face lifts that dominate today's plastic surgery landscape. It's clear from … [Read more...]
Status of Face Transplant patients now?
Before we weigh in on the controversy over face transplants (e.g., if the recipient looks the stranger who donated it, won't he/she be a "walking dead" zombie?), let's catch up with some of the recipients thus far. The following "where are they now" story describes several of the America's facial transplant recipients—who're part of a very small exclusive club. Art rendering of a transplant from Cleveland Clinic/Plain Dealer Catching up with Face Transplant Patients CNN writer Elizabeth … [Read more...]
Face transplants, reconstructive surgery, Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Caught some snippets from "Mission Impossible-III" on TV the other day and was impressed not by all of Tom Cruise's over-the-top stunts, but by two rubberized face mask stunts. Face transplant of Philip Seymour Hoffman's face? At one point Cruise pulls on a face-and-neck hood which is a stunning facimile of Philip Seymour Hoffman who brilliantly plays the villain, Davian, in the movie. In the scene, Cruise as Hoffman approaches Hoffman from behind and you see both of them in the mirror at the … [Read more...]
Harelip, hairlip, and other hairy words.
As a blogger and writer (Cleft Heart and other books) , I get caught up from time to time in the etymology of words (as opposed to that insect stuff, entomology). Etymology is the study of a word's history, origins, and how it's use and meaning have changed over time. Harelip When it comes to a hairy word like harelip, I must get serious first before we can have some fun with some hairy words . The term “harelip” can be considered offensive by many. The little girl pictured here—as all girls … [Read more...]
A challenge for cleft lip kids: symmetry.
I return again to the topic of facial symmetry which we've dealt with here, here, and here, to cite only recent blog posts. Cleft lip kids face challenge when dating. To show why symmetry bedevils cleft lip kids, esp as they get to dating age, I've borrowed the findings cited in a recent Wiki article about physical attractiveness. (Actually , the pertinent info is from the entry entitled Symmetry in the "Facial Attractiveness" subsection. ) I've modified the wiki article footnotes which … [Read more...]
Bullies steal prized NFL football from cleft lip Kid
It saddened me to hear that Nationall Football League star Gordy Soltau just died. Football legend Gordy Soltau. A member of the 49ers Hall of Fame, he scored 24 touchdowns and 70 field goals in his career, only one of three players in NFL history to have ever done this.The great receiver and kicker, who died of natural causes at Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto, California was born in 1925, and played an important role in my life. The following, excerpted from my memoir, Cleft Heart, … [Read more...]
Oscar Pistorius’sentencing suggests he’s a psychopath.
Finally, the other shoe has dropped. And the judge has answered our question . . . sort of. The question asked several Pistorius blogs ago was, does Oscar have psychopathic tendencies like Lance Armstrong and OJ Simpson? Because I felt I knew less about Oscar than Lance and OJ and because a different culture and criminal justice system was at work, I decided to let the judge determine Oscar's mental state. Psychopath? By sentencing Oscar to five years—much less than the ten years she might … [Read more...]