Disfigured Vets Could Receive Face Transplants in Boston

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Seriously disfigured troops serving in Afghanistan and Iraq could receive face transplants at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston thanks to a $3.4 million contract awarded to the hospital, which performed the second face transplant in the United States last April.

Under the Department of Defense contract, eligible patients must have lost at least 25 percent of their faces and could not be helped by traditional plastic surgery, the Associated Press reported.

The Pentagon said it hopes six to eight patients could receive transplants in Boston over the next 18 months. Military officials and doctors told The Boston Globe as many as 200 veterans might qualify.

Contract provisions require the hospital to assess results and determine if a transplant seems to benefit a patient's life, the AP said.

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Diane Porter

Charla Nash was not treated here; she was treated at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. Many of her expenses were paid from the Charla Nash Trust, a trust set up for her when people sent in donations to help with her care. The contract awarded to Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston is completely separate.

June 8, 2010 - 8:23am