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Connie Culp, First Face Transplant Recipient in U.S., Dies at 57 Connie Culp, First Face Transplant Recipient in U.S., Dies at 57
(about 20 hours later)
Connie Culp, the first patient in the United States to receive a face transplant, died on Wednesday at the Cleveland Clinic, which had performed her procedure in 2008. She was 57. Connie Culp, the first patient in the United States to receive a face transplant, died on Wednesday at the Cleveland Clinic, where her procedure was performed in 2008. She was 57.
The cause was an infection unrelated to her transplant, a spokeswoman for the hospital said. The cause was an infection unrelated to her transplant, a spokeswoman for the hospital said. She said Ms. Culp had been the longest-living face transplant patient in the world.
Ms. Culp was the longest-living face transplant patient in the world, the spokeswoman said. Dr. Frank Papay, chairman of the Cleveland Clinic’s Dermatology and Plastic Surgery Institute, said of Ms. Culp, “Her decision to undergo a sometimes-daunting procedure is an enduring gift for all of humanity.”
“She was a great pioneer and her decision to undergo a sometimes-daunting procedure is an enduring gift for all of humanity,” said Dr. Frank Papay, chairman of the Cleveland Clinic’s Dermatology and Plastic Surgery Institute. Dr. Papay was part of the surgical team that performed the operation, replacing Ms. Culp’s damaged face with that of a recently deceased woman. Lasting 23 hours, it was the most extensive and complicated face transplant at the time. Three face transplants had been done before hers: two in France and one in China.
Dr. Papay was part of the surgical team that performed Ms. Culp’s 23-hour operation in 2008, which replaced her damaged face with that of a recently deceased woman. A Cleveland Clinic ethics committee had approved such a procedure only in 2004, the first such committee to do so. Dr. Eric Kodish, then the chairman of the clinic’s bioethics department, told The New York Times that before the transplant Ms. Culp had undergone psychological testing, in which she was asked whether it was she or a family member who wanted the transplant. She was also asked how she felt about the prospect of living with the face of someone who had died.
It was the most extensive and complicated face transplant at the time. Three face transplants had been done before Ms. Culp’s: two in France and one in China. Most of her face had been damaged when she was shot by her husband, Thomas Culp, in 2004; her wounds had left her unable to breathe or eat on her own.
A Cleveland Clinic ethics committee had approved such a procedure only in 2004, the first such committee to do so. Dr. Eric Kodish, then the chairman of the clinic’s bioethics department, told The New York Times after the transplant that Ms. Culp had undergone psychological testing before the surgery. Her husband, with whom she had a common-law marriage, according to The Plain Dealer of Cleveland, was sentenced to seven years in prison for aggravated attempted murder and released in 2011.
She was asked whether it was she or a family member who wanted the transplant, and about how she felt about living with the face from a dead person, Dr. Kodish said. After shooting his wife, Mr. Culp turned the shotgun on himself but lost only a few teeth and some vision in his left eye.
Ms. Culp was shot by her husband, Thomas Culp, in 2004, damaging most of her face and leaving her unable to breathe or eat on her own. Her husband, with whom she had a common-law marriage, according to The Plain Dealer, was sentenced to seven years in prison for aggravated attempted murder and released in 2011. Ms. Culp said she had forgiven her husband. “I still love my husband,” she told the ABC program “Good Morning America” in 2009. “I forgave him the day he did it. I have to.”
After shooting his wife, Mr. Culp turned the shotgun on himself but only lost a few teeth and some of the vision in his left eye. He still looked the same, Ms. Culp told The Plain Dealer. About 40 such surgeries have been performed worldwide since Ms. Culp’s, said Dr. Thomas Romo III, director of facial plastic and reconstructive surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital and Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital.
She said she had forgiven her husband. “I still love my husband,” she told “Good Morning America” in 2009. “I forgave him the day he did it. I have to.” Her procedure was successful, and for the rest of her life she needed to take drugs to prevent her immune system from rejecting the transplant. The drugs, however, make the recipient more susceptible to infections.
Around 40 such surgeries have been done worldwide since Ms. Culp’s, said Dr. Thomas Romo III, director of facial plastic and reconstructive surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital and Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital. Charla Nash, who received a full face transplant in 2011 after being mauled by a friend’s pet chimpanzee in Stamford, Conn., was hospitalized in 2016 after she participated in a trial to determine if transplant patients could be weaned off the anti-rejection drugs.
Her procedure was immediately successful and Ms. Culp’s body did not reject the transplant, though she needed to take anti-rejection drugs for the rest of her life. The drugs suppress a patient’s immune system to prevent it from rejecting the transplant but also make the person more susceptible to infections. Most face transplant procedures are necessitated by gunshot wounds or accidents involving animals, Dr. Romo said.
Most face transplant procedures are related to gunshot wounds or accidents involving animals, Dr. Romo said. After successful transplants, most patients are able to speak, eat and otherwise live a more normal life. If not for the surgery, Ms. Culp would not have been able to smile or talk, Dr. Romo said, adding that face transplants can have positive psychological effects for patients.
Charla Nash, who received a full face transplant in 2011 after being mauled by her friend’s pet chimpanzee in Stamford, Conn., was hospitalized in 2016 after she participated in a trial to determine if transplant patients could be weaned off the anti-rejection drugs. She was chosen for the experimental surgery because of her optimism and willingness to follow medical orders, according to a 2010 profile of her in The Plain Dealer, which described her as having been “a hard-working, fun-loving, Harley-riding, thumb-wrestling, small-town Ohio woman.”
Face transplants are more than just cosmetic improvements for patients, Dr. Romo said. After successful transplants, most patients are able to speak, eat and otherwise live a more normal life. Ms. Culp and her husband ran a drywall, painting and wallpapering business before they bought a restaurant and bar in 2004. She often worked there from the early morning until late at night, The Plain Dealer reported.
If not for the surgery, Ms. Culp would not have been able to smile or talk, Dr. Romo said, adding that face transplants can have positive psychological effects for patients. After spending six years in hospitals and nursing homes, she returned to her home in coal-mining country in southeastern Ohio, where a daughter, Alicia, helped care for her, the newspaper said. She also had a son, Steven. Complete information on her survivors was not available.
Ms. Culp is “a milestone in medical history, and will be forever,” he said. Connie Wagoner was born on March 26, 1963, and grew up in eastern Ohio, near the Pennsylvania border.
She was chosen for the experimental surgery because of her optimism and willingness to follow medical orders, according to a 2010 profile in The Plain Dealer. At a news conference unveiling her new face in 2009, Ms. Culp asked that others be kind to people with facial disfigurements.
Ms. Culp and her husband previously ran a drywall, painting and wallpapering business before they bought a restaurant and bar in 2004, where she often worked from the early morning until late at night, The Plain Dealer reported.
She was born on March 26, 1963. Details about survivors were not immediately available.
At a news conference unveiling her new face in 2009, Ms. Culp asked others to be kind to people with facial disfigurements.
“Don’t judge people who don’t look the same as you do,” she said. “Because you never know. One day it might be all taken away.”“Don’t judge people who don’t look the same as you do,” she said. “Because you never know. One day it might be all taken away.”