Psychosocial changes 6 months after face transplantation

Area of Science:

• Reconstructive surgery
• Psychosocial outcomes
• Quality of life assessment

Background:

• Facial transplantation aims to correct severe facial deformities in a single surgical procedure.
• Over 20 facial transplantations have been performed since 2005.
• Limited data exists on the long-term psychosocial well-being of facial transplant recipients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate psychosocial changes in adult facial transplant recipients.
• Assess changes using various psychosocial measures at 3 and 6 months post-transplantation.
• Utilize pre-operative comprehensive psychiatric assessments for baseline comparison.

Main Methods:

• Psychosocial measures administered at 3 and 6 months post-full facial transplantation.
• Utilized the MOS-SF-12 for physical and mental health quality of life assessment.
• Assessed self-esteem and dyadic function, alongside the EQ-5D quality of life measure.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements in physical and mental health quality of life were observed by 6 months (MOS-SF-12, p=0.02 for physical, p=0.04 for mental).
• Initial post-operative physical quality of life declined but improved by 6 months.
• No significant changes were noted in self-esteem or dyadic function; EQ-5D results did not reflect improvements seen in MOS-SF-12.

Conclusions:

• Facial transplantation is transitioning into a more common clinical practice.
• Future research should incorporate mixed-methods analyses (qualitative and quantitative data).
• Collaborative assessment protocols among facial transplantation centers are recommended to better understand recipient psychosocial changes.