Maryland Team Completes Most Extensive Face Transplant Yet 36
An anonymous reader writes "A 37-year-old man injured in a 1997 gun incident has been given a new face, teeth, tongue and jaw in what doctors say is the most extensive face transplant ever performed. The transplant was performed at the University of Maryland Medical Center. The first full face transplant was performed in France in 2005, on a woman who was mauled by her dog. In a review of the first 17 cases since then, it was found that the overall survival rate after face transplant was 88%, with only two deaths."
Sample size (Score:4, Insightful)
Although 15 out of 17 successes is pretty hopeful, it's a pretty small sample size to be giving statistics (88% survival rate). If the next one they do results in a death, then it drops to 83%... a fairly big change for adding a single case.
Re:Just so we're all clear (Score:5, Insightful)
A guy who shot his own face off is a deserving recipient of hundreds of surgeon-hours of reconstructive effort, right?
That's great news: I presume that it means that we've already fixed every birth defect in every innocent infant, yes?
So... you're saying that experimental surgical procedures should only be carried out on certified-100%-deserving angels?
Re:Sample size (Score:3, Insightful)
If the next one they do results in a death, then it drops to 83%... a fairly big change for adding a single case.
I think they're aware of that, and they'll make a special effort to not kill the next patient.
But if they don't kill the next one, their survival rate only goes up to 89%. So they gain 1 percentage point if they succeed, but lose 5 if they fail? With those lopsided odds, it seems the logical choice is not to risk it.