Face transplant woman saved by dog, says daughter
Published: December 2, 2005
The French woman who received the world’s first partial face transplant this week was disfigured when her dog tried to wake her during a suicide attempt, her daughter said.
“She had taken pills, she was unconscious. When the dog realised that, it tried to wake her,” the 17-year-old from the northern French town of Valenciennes, who did not wish to be named, said late on Thursday
“After that we don’t know what happened with the dog, whether it bit or clawed her, but it managed to pull her awake. In a way, it was lucky for her that the dog was there,” she said. [The Compassion of Animals : True Stories of Animal Courage and Kindness]
Her mother, aged 38, lost both lips and her nose in the incident in May, which left her unable to speak or eat properly.
On Sunday, doctors transplanted a nose, chin and mouth taken from a brain-dead donor onto her lower face, a world first for an operation that carries high medical risks.
The dog, a cross between a Labrador and a beauceron, was put down - against the wishes of the family who wanted to keep it, according to the daughter. They have since taken another, smaller, dog.
Before the operation, the young woman said her mother had “little by little accepted” the fact of being disfigured, but was forced to wear a surgeon’s mask in public and sometimes faced mockery from strangers.
“The hardest part was to be seen by other people. People did not know what was wrong with her and asked stupid questions, like whether she had bird flu.”
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