At the time, she said, a doctor told her: “The only option for Derek is a face transplant.”Derek Pfaff with his mother, Lisa, before his face transplant procedure.
Mayo ClinicPfaff, 30, is now one of just several dozen people in the world who have successfully received a life-changing face transplant.
Among them are Aaron James, who received the world’s first whole-eye and partial face transplant, and Katie Stubblefield, who was the youngest person to receive a face transplant in the United States.
Before his face transplant surgery, Derek Pfaff was missing several parts of his face.
You are restoring, bringing in fully formed facial parts.”Dr. Samir Mardini led the medical team that performed Pfaff's face transplant in February.
Persons:
CNN — Derek Pfaff, “, ”, Pfaff, Jerry Pfaff, Derek Pfaff, Lisa Pfaff, Derek, ” Derek Pfaff, Lisa, Mayo Clinic Pfaff, Aaron James, Katie Stubblefield, “ There’ve, Samir Mardini, Mayo, Mardini, – they’re, it’s, ” Mardini, Dr, ’ Pfaff, –, ” Pfaff, Sanjay Gupta, Lisa’s, ” Lisa, “ We’re
Organizations:
Lifeline, CNN, International Association for Suicide Prevention, Befrienders, Mayo Clinic, World Health Organization, US Centers for Disease Control, CNN Health, Detroit Lions football
Locations:
Harbor Beach , Michigan, United States, Rochester , Minnesota, Mayo