Hi honey, I'm home! Guess what!...

March 12, 2003 11:06 AM

Face Transplants : "...the harvesting or ''degloving'' of a face would take approximately two hours, depending on the depth of the excision. It is possible to remove not just skin and subcutaneous fat and muscle but....part of the donor's bone and cartilage as well. Still, the deeper the cut, the more complex becomes the reattachment."
posted by troutfishing (10 comments total)

For further info this was commented on here and discussed here.
posted by DBAPaul at 11:22 AM on March 12, 2003

These procedures will be reserved for the truly needy, of course, and not for those who merely want a quick image change: they will have to take the David Byrne route:

He would see faces in movies, on T.V., in magazines, and in books....He thought that some of these faces might be right for him....And through the years, by keeing an ideal facial structure fixed in his mind....Or somewhere in the back of his mind....That he might, by force of will, cause his face to approach those of his ideal....The change would be very subtle....It might take ten years or so....Gradually his face would change its' shape....A more hooked nose...
Wider, thinner lips....Beady eyes....A larger forehead.

He imagined that this was an ability he shared with most other people....They had also molded their faced according to some ideal....Maybe they imagined that their new face would better suit their personality....Or maybe they imagined that their personality would be forced to change to fit the new appear- ance....This is why first impressions are often correct...

Although some people might have made mistakes....They may have arrived at an appearance that bears no relationship to them.... They may have picked an ideal appearance based on some childish whim, or momentary impulse....Some may have gotten half-way there, and then changed their minds.

He wonders if he too might have made a similar mistake."

-- "Seen and Not Seen" from the Talking Heads, "Remain in Light" album.
posted by troutfishing at 11:23 AM on March 12, 2003

DBAPaul - Thanks. Oh well......maybe the post will stand, but perhaps it should be canned.
posted by troutfishing at 11:27 AM on March 12, 2003

Michael Jackson: The final piece of the puzzle.
posted by archimago at 1:04 PM on March 12, 2003

Troutfishing, it's still an interesting article. And the content is markedly different from the other links. Thanks for the post.
posted by Happydaz at 1:06 PM on March 12, 2003

More interesting than the initial articles, great post. It still seems, though, that family resistance to donation will be a significant obstacle.
posted by rotifer at 1:21 PM on March 12, 2003

Dewd...didn't I see this in Face/Off?
posted by stew560 at 1:23 PM on March 12, 2003

Yeah, this procedure was documented on film by an aspiring film student by the name of John Woo and was performed on two brave souls: John Travolta and Nick Cage.

The thing that bothers me is that they have two completely different bodies! Go fig!
posted by LexRockhard at 1:30 PM on March 12, 2003

Glad someone said it... ;)
posted by twine42 at 1:32 PM on March 12, 2003

I've been waiting for this to happen ever since I saw Eyes Without a Face.
posted by hot soup girl at 4:33 PM on March 12, 2003