Second face transplant in US performed

Surgeons in Boston have performed the second-ever partial face transplant in the United States, replacing some 80 percent of a disfigured man's face.

A team of surgeons, nurses and anesthesiologists labored 17 hours to replace the patient's nose, hard palate, facial skin, muscles and nerves, the Brigham and Women's Hospital where the surgery was performed said in a statement.

"Advances in transplantation only happen when there are individuals and families who can see past their own tragic circumstances and agree to donation," said Kevin O'Connor, whose New England Organ bank worked with a donor family to provide the organs and tissue required for the transplant.

The patient has requested anonymity, and the hospital did not say what injuries or conditions the patient suffered from.

The world's first partial face transplant was conducted in France in 2005.

(c) 2009 AFP