"The first time I went into the grocery store, nobody looked at me. And I noticed [that] nobody looked at me. And that, well that's sort of really nice."
In 2007, Carmen Tarleton was assaulted by her ex-husband, resulting in chemical burns over 80% of her body. She recovered after dozens of surgeries, but her face was severely disfigured. In February 2013, Cheryl Denelli-Righter suffered a stroke that left her brain-dead. Her daughter Marinda was approached to see if she was willing to donate her mother's face. This past Valentine's day, Carmen received her face transplant, the 29th in the world.
This is their story. (note: article contains photos and video of Carmen both before and after the transplant.) [more inside]
posted by Homeboy Trouble
on Jun 5, 2013 -
27 comments
“So when I was pregnant and about to give birth, I was expecting kindness, understanding, love. But, by god, was I wrong. They were torturers. They didn’t care. I was a thing. An
experiment.”
[more inside]
posted by Catseye
on Jan 3, 2013 -
56 comments
From Vanity Fair,
The Murder Hustle: In 1988, 'When businessman Gene Hanson died in a California doctor's office, his partner, John Hawkins, a former Studio 54 bartender, got $1 million in insurance. Nine months later, Hanson was caught in Texas with a new face and a new name, Wolfgang Von Snowden. He and the doctor are awaiting trial for murder. Hawkins, a scam artist and sex addict, has disappeared with the money.
Ann Louise Bardach investigates three double lives in the business community of Columbus, Ohio, the Genet underground of West Hollywood, and the luxury condos of Miami's Biscayne Bay.'
Part 1.
[more inside]
posted by the man of twists and turns
on Aug 3, 2012 -
18 comments
Woman, 83, Has World’s First Lower Jaw Replacement – In 3D [abc.com] In what has been called the first operation of its kind, an 83-year-old woman in the Netherlands has been fitted with a custom-made artificial jaw that was created by a 3D printer.
The titanium implant, which weighs less than 4 ounces, was created by taking a CT scan of the woman’s lower jaw and duplicating it with a 3D printer that lays down titanium powder instead of ink. The printer followed the pattern of the woman’s jaw bone layer by layer, fusing the titanium powder in place with heat. In just a couple hours, the 3D replica was ready.
posted by Fizz
on Feb 7, 2012 -
43 comments
A Lie of the Mind : 'Brain tumors are funny, but they're not hilarious.'
On the Fourth of July 2010 I was walking to the train with my favorite person ever, Mike O’Malley, and had several massive, uncontrollable seizures. [...] I am now under the care of new specialists because of an insurance issue, and am kind of starting from scratch again regarding treatment. This blog is meant to record this bizarre process.
posted by shakespeherian
on Mar 15, 2011 -
7 comments
Nil by Mouth is Roger Ebert's article about what life is like now that he doesn't eat or drink anymore, but is nourished by tube. And interesting reflection on what life can be like after thyroid cancer, and not as sad as you might think.
posted by kaszeta
on Jan 7, 2010 -
50 comments
"The Kindest Cut" A Colorado surgeon is helping to restore sensation, biological structure and self-esteem to victims of female genital mutilation. She's
"Trinidad's Transgender Rock Star"
Bowers performs the surgery free of charge, and the hospital caps its fees at $1,700. "...you cannot charge money to reverse a crime against humanity," she says. "Sexuality is a right."
[more inside]
posted by zarq
on Oct 21, 2009 -
51 comments
Recently, a man's sight was
returned to him after losing it for 12 years. How did he do it? Surgeons drilled a hole through one of his canines, put a lens in it, and implanted the construct in his eye.
[more inside]
posted by scrutiny
on Jul 18, 2009 -
65 comments
[Warning: Not Safe For the Squeamish] "An Illustrated History of Trepanation":
Although the reasons for trepanning and the instruments used for the procedure differ with time and from culture to culture, the result is always the same: a hole in the head, usually made when the individual was fully conscious and, often, unanaesthetized. • • From an interview with
Heather Perry, who trepanned herself:
"I used a hand trepan initially, but that wasn't proving to be terribly successful. Then there was a problem with the people who owned the property we were staying in, so we decided we'd have to just leave it. I wrapped my head up in a towel and we got out of there. A couple of days later, we had another go. We abandoned the hand trepan and got an electric drill instead." • • And, of course, the home version of the game. [more inside]
posted by not_on_display
on Oct 16, 2008 -
71 comments
My Beautiful Mommy is a children's book for children whose mothers suddenly come home from the doctor with giant hooters, or significant amounts of fat suddenly missing. A
bold new market in childrens publishing awaits.
posted by jonson
on Apr 18, 2008 -
66 comments
Grow your own spare parts. At last we're regenerating properly. Scientists took stem cells from patients fat tissue, cultivated bone cells from them, crafted a nice comfy titanium cage where to grow and put the cage into man's abdomen. After 9 months, install new upper jaw.
posted by Free word order!
on Feb 1, 2008 -
36 comments
As
Armistice Day approaches an exhibition reveals a hidden side to the horror of World War I.
It contains
previously unseen images of British servicemen who suffered terrible facial injuries in the conflict.
The exhibition also tells the story of one surgeon -
Harold Gillies – who through his efforts to help them became known as the father of modern plastic surgery.
WARNING: Some of the following images are of a very graphic nature.
posted by infini
on Nov 3, 2007 -
8 comments
Dental Vacation Plans & Travel Packages For Single Men: At first thought, it may seem a bit strange to combine the objectives of romance and dental surgery or treatments - into a singles vacation package! But, if you are a single man who would like to seriously explore opportunities of finding a special woman and also have some dental health issues that you would seriously like to resolve, then why not?
posted by billysumday
on Aug 22, 2007 -
15 comments
Make Me Heal is an online community serving the needs of America's vast cosmetic surgery audience, with tips & tricks on what works best to heal scarring, etc, including an encyclopedia
of terms. To promote their vision of "Celebrating Natural Beauty With Enhancement" they're hosting the first ever
Plastic Surgery Beauty Enhancement Awards, with categories like
Best Breast Augmentation (NSFW) and Best Male Liposuction." Contestants must submit before, during & after shots of the procedure, and site visitors can vote on their favorites.
posted by jonson
on Jul 2, 2007 -
26 comments
New surgical
robots are not only capable of working more precisely than human hands, but they have no metal or electrical parts, so will work under
MRI machines on tumors that would otherwise be invisible. The NeuroArm will set you back $27 million, but may confer more karma than that trip to space.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium
on Apr 17, 2007 -
25 comments
Sgt. Wells's New Skull. In the epidemic of brain injuries coming out of the war, Army neurosurgeons had never seen someone survive such a devastating wound. But Brian Wells jokes that he just left part of his head in Iraq. Someday, he says, he'll have to go back and get it.
posted by srboisvert
on Mar 15, 2007 -
21 comments
