Carmen Blandin Tarleton received a face transplant six years ago after she was severely burned in a domestic violence attack.

Tissue Damage Could Lead To Loss Of Donor Face

The 51-year-old, who now lives in Manchester, New Hampshire, said that the transplant dramatically improved her life, after she was left disfigured when her estranged husband doused her with a toxic chemical that burned more than 80 percent of her body.

Her new face is unfortunately failing. Doctors have discovered tissue damage that could lead to the loss of her donor face.

Tarleton experienced repeated rejection episodes since her transplant in 2013. While doctors were able to treat these episodes, they recently discovered that some blood vessels to Tarleton's face had narrowed and closed causing the facial tissue to die.

If the facial damage progresses slowly, Tarleton may have to undergo another face transplant. In the event the damage progresses fast and the tissue dies quickly, doctors would need to remove it and reconstruct the original face.

Face Transplantation Still In Its Infancy

Tarleston's case shows that despite successes in the field of face transplantation, the procedure is still experimental and there is still much to learn about it, its benefits and long-term risks.

Doctors also admitted that they do not expect patients with a face transplant to have the face last for their entire lifetime as most transplanted organs have limited life spans.

It isn't only Tarleton who has been experiencing this setback following the surgery. Cleveland Clinic transplant surgeon Brian Gastman, who did the first face transplant in the United States 11 years ago, said that more patients are experiencing chronic rejection.

In 2018, French man Jerome Hamon who had a face transplant in 2010 underwent a second transplant after his immune system rejected his donor face because of an antibiotic he took.

"We all believe every patient will likely need a retransplant," Gastman said.

Doctors said it may take at least a month to evaluate Tarleton and decide about a second transplant.