Richard Lee Norris. Full facial restoration after shotgun blast

Richard Lee Norris "lost" his face in an accident when he was 22 years old and accidentally shot himself in the face with a shotgun. However, everything did not happen so accidentally. That day, Richard returned home drunk and quarreled with his own mother. In the heat of the moment, he grabbed a shotgun and threatened to kill himself. In fact, he did not intend to kill himself at all, it was just that the scenario of the quarrel turned out that way. So, Richard went out into the corridor, still with a shotgun in his hands, and at that moment a shot rang out... His face literally exploded - fragments of his jaws, pieces of his lips and tongue, pieces of his cheeks were everywhere, including on his mother, dumbfounded in horror ...

Since then, Richard's life has become a real hell. His face was disfigured beyond recognition - it was as if he was no longer there. So, the bones on the lower half of his face were crushed to pieces, and it was as if nothing at all remained of his jaws, his nose turned into a shapeless something, and only a part of his tongue remained. How did he live all these for many years, more than ten years, Richard doesn’t even want to remember - he constantly had to hide himself from the world; He went shopping under cover of darkness, and there was no question of going out somewhere and relaxing. He also came into close contact with human cruelty, which he had never known about before, while he was “normal.” Every day was a nightmare for him, over the years he plunged into depression, tried to suppress it with alcohol and even drugs, and more than once thought about taking his own life...

But everything changes, and over the years medicine has not stood still, and in 2012 Richard was offered unique operation for facial reconstruction, to which he, of course, agreed.

A team of surgeons led by Eduardo Rodriguez from medical center Medical Center's R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland performed a unique operation, as a result of which Richard got a new face. The operation lasted 36 hours and became one of the largest face transplant operations in the history of medicine.

This was a very serious decision for everyone - both for the doctors and for Richard himself, because the chances that he would survive the transplant were estimated no higher than 50 to 50. Alas, when the operation had already begun, it was no longer possible to turn back - there was waiting ahead or complete success, or complete nothing. The main thing is that rejection does not occur.

Richard Lee Norris was lucky - his body took on a new face, and after some time he saw himself in the mirror for the first time. It was him, and at the same time it was not him at all - a completely alien, unfamiliar face was looking at 39-year-old Richard from the mirror. By the way, many donors were involved in facial reconstruction for Richard, and therefore his appearance can now be called “collective.” However, the main donor is still known - this is 21-year-old American Joshua Aversano, who died in a road accident.

Be that as it may, Richard's new face was no comparison to the nightmare he lived with. recent years. After a few months, he was rehabilitated, and life gradually began to return to normal. He was surprised to discover that people on the streets no longer wring their necks to get a better look at his face, and, in addition, he began to eat and chew food normally, and even learned to smile a little.

Of course, the risk of rejection always exists, and Richard had to come to terms with this now, and he will continue to live with it. But still, “life with a face” became for him simply a new birth, and before that it was as if he had not lived, but was simply dragging out his existence, hating himself and everyone who saw his face.

Now he rediscovers life in all its delights - the joy of communication, sports, fishing, walks around the city. And after all these years, Richard became kinder - having suffered from evil and indifferent people, he will never allow himself to be a boor and an ignoramus, he knows perfectly well how much just one annoying look, a crooked grin, a whisper behind his back can sometimes hurt.

Richard Lee Norris is eternally grateful to the doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Center who gave him new life, because, as it turned out, before terrible incident he did not value his life at all, did not rejoice in his health, but only took everything for granted.

Now, with a new face, he is grateful to every new day and to everyone who took part in his destiny.

In 1997, the face of American Richard Lee Norris was disfigured by a gunshot. His life was saved, but his face was not. Over the course of 15 years, Richard underwent 12 plastic surgeries, but they did not help. Richard was waiting for technology to appear that could return him to his normal appearance. All this time he tried to avoid people...

On March 21, an anonymous donor donated his organs to Norris and several other patients. Dozens of doctors who had been studying Richard's case for several years took up the case. Six days after the operation, Richard was able to move his tongue and open and close his eyes. Having recovered from anesthesia, the patient first asked for a mirror, after which he hugged his attending physician.

Richard Lee Norris was mutilated beyond recognition 15 years ago. He lost his nose, lips, tongue, teeth. He is now 37 years old.

In the photo: Richard Lee Norris before the accident, before and after plastic surgery.
Photo provided March 27, 2012 by University of Maryland Medical Center, USA.

American doctors performed a unique face transplant operation on Richard Lee Norris. The operation was prepared for several years. The team of doctors and surgeons was led by Eduardo Rodriguez, chief surgeon at the Maryland Medical Center.

REUTERS/Patrick Smith

Richard Lee Norris underwent the most extensive and longest plastic surgery in history. In 36 hours, the shooting victim received not only facial skin, but also a nose, jaw, teeth and even a tongue.

REUTERS/Patrick Smith

Eduardo Rodriguez, chief surgeon at the Maryland Medical Center: “After surgery, Richard Lee Norris can move his jaw and open and close his mouth. We have to teach him to eat and drink again. He is now on a liquid diet. He can move his tongue and open and close his eyes. Looking in the mirror, he begins to get used to the fact that it is his face. And he even started brushing his teeth, which we didn’t expect.”

Pictured: March 27, 2012. Eduardo Rodriguez speaks at a conference at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, USA.

The patient managed to regain not only his face, but also his facial expressions, voice, sense of smell, and skin sensitivity. In general, everything that he lost many years ago as a result of a tragic incident.

In the photo: March 27, 2012. Conference at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, USA.
Gail Burton/The Associated Press

Eduardo Rodriguez, chief surgeon at the Maryland Medical Center: “We produced complete transplant bones, skin, subcutaneous tissue, the muscles that are responsible for facial expression and nerves.”

In the photo: scan-computer diagnostics of the facial part of the skull: on the right - before the accident, in the center - after the accident, on the left - after surgery.
University of Maryland Medical Center

In the photo: March 27, 2012. Conference at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, USA.
REUTERS/Patrick Smith

Richard Norris's operation was paid for by the US Department of Defense. It hopes that the experience gained will help return to normal life soldiers injured in hot spots. There are now about 200 veterans in America who may need the same operation.

Pictured: March 27, 2012. Eduardo Rodriguez answers questions at a conference at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, USA.
REUTERS/Patrick Smith

Pictured: March 27, 2012. Eduardo Rodriguez speaks at a conference at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, USA.
REUTERS/Patrick Smith

In the photo: Richard Lee Norris after plastic surgery. Richard hid from people and waited for technology to reach high level. Photo provided March 27, 2012 by University of Maryland Medical Center, USA.
AFP PHOTO / UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND MEDICAL CENTER

Pictured: Richard Lee Norris after the accident. Richard hid from people and waited for technology to reach a high level. Photo provided March 27, 2012 by University of Maryland Medical Center, USA.
AFP PHOTO / UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND MEDICAL CENTER

Richard Norris, 39, suffered a shotgun blast to the face in 1997 after a failed suicide attempt. Doctors were able to save his life, but it was difficult for Richard to live with such a face, so he hid at home for 16 years so that people could not see him. But a miracle happened. Doctors performed an unprecedented operation to transplant a patient's face. Now Richard has started a new life, with a new face.

This is what Richard Noris looked like before the tragedy

This is what Richard looked like after he came out of the hospital alive.

After the incident, Richard lost his nose, jaw, subcutaneous muscles, facial sensitivity, etc.

Face transplant

During the operation, Richard's bones, teeth, and facial muscles, including his tongue and nose, were transplanted.

When the swelling went down everyone could see Richard's new face

Richard lived as a hermit outside the city with his parents. He couldn't bring himself to go outside during the day, and if he needed something outside the house, he did it late at night when no one could see him. “When I was walking down the street, I noticed that people were crashing into poles trying to see me, and I thought that someone would end up breaking their neck,” Richard said. From home to as a last resort he came out wearing a surgical mask and a baseball cap. With such a face, he lost his permanent job.

The first photo shows what the skull looked like before transplantation.

Richard is excited about the new face, but he is haunted by the fact that parts of his face were transplanted from 21-year-old Joshua Aversano, who was hit by a minivan while crossing the street. Richard is very grateful to the family of the deceased guy, constantly informs them about the condition of his face and expresses his gratitude in every possible way.

But not everything is so good, the transplanted parts of the face could begin to be rejected at any moment

To do this, Richard visited his surgeon every day for an examination.

So far everything is fine and there are no rejections observed

Richard wakes up every day fearing and wondering whether this day will be a good one for him and his face. He always remembers the possibility of rejection. Regular examination does not allow him to forget about this.

Complete facial engraftment will take place over 20-30 years, and during this entire period of time, Richard will be forced to take immunosuppressants.

Richard and a friend are going fishing and his friend teaches him how to thread a reel onto a fishing rod

Doctors say that after a while Richard will be able to feel the same as you and I, i.e. touch, temperature, can smell, etc. He can already move his tongue, jaw, and even shave and brush his teeth. A new life full of possibilities has arrived for him.

Most recently, Richard became a star of GQ magazine

Today this man is a star in medical (and not only medical) magazines. The victim of a terrible gun accident, he literally lost his face and lived like that for over a decade. And now Richard has a new face, he looks like a man again, he does not need to hide and hide either under a mask or under the cover of darkness.

Richard Lee Norris" >

Since then, Richard's life has become a real hell. His face was disfigured beyond recognition - it was as if he was no longer there. So, the bones on the lower half of his face were crushed to pieces, and it was as if nothing at all remained of his jaws, his nose turned into a shapeless something, and only a part of his tongue remained. How he lived all these long years, more than ten years, Richard does not even want to remember - he constantly had to hide himself from the world; He went shopping under cover of darkness, and there was no question of going out somewhere and relaxing. He also came into close contact with human cruelty, which he had never known about before, while he was “normal.” Every day was a nightmare for him, over the years he plunged into depression, tried to suppress it with alcohol and even drugs, and more than once thought about taking his own life...

But everything changes, and over the years medicine has not stood still, and in 2012 Richard was offered a unique facial reconstruction operation, which he, of course, agreed to.

A team of surgeons led by Eduardo Rodriguez from the University of Maryland Medical Center's R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center performed a unique operation, as a result of which Richard had a new face. The operation lasted 36 hours and became one of the largest surgical operations in the history of medicine. face transplantation.

Richard Lee Norris" >

Be that as it may, Richard's new face could not be compared with the nightmare with which he had lived in recent years. After a few months, he was rehabilitated, and life gradually began to return to normal. He was surprised to discover that people on the streets no longer wring their necks to get a better look at his face, and, in addition, he began to eat and chew food normally, and even learned to smile a little.

Richard Lee Norris" >

Richard Lee Norris" >

Now he rediscovers life in all its delights - the joy of communication, sports, fishing, walks around the city. And after all these years, Richard has become kinder - having suffered from evil and indifferent people, he will never allow himself to be a boor and an ignoramus, he knows very well how much sometimes just one annoying look, a crooked grin, a whisper behind his back can hurt.

Richard Lee Norris" >

Richard Lee Norris is eternally grateful to the doctors from the University of Maryland Medical Center, who gave him a new life, because, as it turned out, before the terrible incident, he did not value his life at all, did not rejoice in his health, but only took everything for granted.

Richard Lee Norris" >

Now, with a new face, he is grateful to every new day and to everyone who took part in his destiny.

Richard Lee Norris" >

The USA hosted one of the most successful plastic surgery. The patient managed to regain not only his face, but also his facial expressions, voice, sense of smell, and skin sensitivity. In general, everything that he lost many years ago as a result of a tragic incident.

(Total 6 photos)

1. In 1997, Richard Lee Norris' face was damaged by a gunshot. Under what circumstances this happened is unknown. Western journalists put forward a variety of versions - from a street shootout to a suicide attempt. The middle photo was taken shortly after the operation, which doctors call unique.

2. "It was a complex maxillofacial transplant. We transplanted skin, subcutaneous tissue, bones, nerves that send impulses to the muscles and the muscles themselves that are responsible for facial expression,” says Eduardo Rodriguez, a transplant specialist at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

3. Doctors proudly show the new face of their patient. Previously, Richard Norris had already undergone 12 operations, but none of them gave the desired result. Before the incident he had permanent job. Then he lost her. The man lived with his parents and only left the house wearing a mask. Last operation lasted 36 hours. The result exceeded even the wildest expectations.

4. “He moves his jaws, opens his mouth. So far he only takes liquid food, but he can move his tongue, he can open and close his eyes, look in the mirror, shave and brush his teeth. We didn’t even expect a lot of this,” says Eduardo Rodriguez.

5. Moreover, doctors assure that Richard Norris will be able to feel heat and cold, the breath of wind, any touch with his face, that is, everything that he feels completely healthy person. In addition, his sense of smell returns.

Little is known about the donor. His relatives did not agree to publish any details. It was only announced that, in addition to the face, other organs of this person were also donated for transplantation. The surgeons themselves saw his face. “If you look at the one who donated his face and at Richard, you can come to the conclusion that the result was a kind of mixture of two people. The nose, for example, and the chin are from the donor. And everything else - soft fabrics, all rear end and the skull is Richard Noris,” says Eduardo Rodriguez.

6. Richard Norris is now 37 years old. The operation was paid for by the US Department of Defense. It hopes that the experience gained will help return soldiers injured in hot spots to normal life. There are now about 200 veterans in America who may need the same operation.

Experts say Richard Norris will now have to constantly take immunosuppressants to prevent the possibility of rejection of the transplanted tissue. But this is a negligible price to pay for the opportunity to return to normal life.