The First Male Face Transplant Recipient

James Maki before the face transplant.

James Maki, a 59 year old who owns a quite disturbing face - he lost his nose, upper lip, cheeks and the roof of his mouth as a result of the horrific subway accident in 2005. After years of living in isolation, he has seen light of living a normal life again after hearing about face transplant through Dr Bohdan Pomahac.

April 9, Mr. Maki underwent 17 hours of surgery after his doctors found a perfect match for him, Joseph Helfgot, who died after a heart transplant. Both are of the same age and with the same skin tone. After that long grueling hours, the operation was a success.

The donor

The new face- "I can't believe you made me look so close to what I used to look like."