Transplant patient gets better

ANTALYA - Anatolia News Agency

Turkey’s first transplant patient Uğur Acar was operated last week.

Turkey’s first face transplant patient will look like a 37 year-old-man, although his biological age is 19, said assistant Professor Özlenen Özkan, one of the doctors who was involved in the operation.

Uğur Acar, 19, received the face of Ahmet Kaya, 37, last week.

“He is slowly adapting to his new face and this process will go on for approximately a year. The age gap between the donor and receiver is 15 years, but this is normal,” Özkan said, adding that the patient could undergo an aesthetic operation if necessary.

“Face transplants have only been going on for five or six years across the world. Because it is so new, we don’t have the necessary data, we will see what happens as time passes,” she said.

Acar was currently speaking, eating and growing a beard like a normal person, Özkan also said. “He told us that he is feeling well. He is even able to stand up, but we do not allow him yet.”