After an extensive 56 hours of surgery, Andy Sandness was finally able to see his new face.
The 31-year-old tried to kill himself with a rifle back in 2006 but survived, leaving his face severely damaged even after eight surgeries.
But now, more than 10 years later, Sandness is recovering from a successful face transplant – and this was the moment he gazed upon the results for the first time.
Sandness was introduced to the idea of a face transplant by Dr Samir Mardini of the Mayo Clinic, who were launching a face transplant programme and thought Sandness would make an ideal patient.
After careful consideration, Sandness agreed and so the medical team began rehearsing the surgery with cadaver heads for three and a half years.
Sandness’s new face is made up of the nose, cheeks, lips, mouth, chin, jaw and teeth of 21-year-old Calen Ross, who tragically shot himself in the head.
His wife, Lilly Ross, carried out his wishes to become an organ donor and agreed to the face transplant.
After the surgery ended, Mardini proclaimed it as “a miracle.”
