Researchers from the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University suggest that individuals who have suffered significant facial injuries may benefit from face transplant surgery in terms of their ability to produce speech. The research was conducted on a single patient.
One of the most intensive treatments for the reconstruction of the face that is now possible is called a face transplant. Donor tissues are used throughout the process in order to accomplish either a partial or complete reconstruction of the nerves, muscles, and skeletal components of the face, head, and neck. This case report contributes to the relatively restricted body of research that documents speech production outcomes after face transplantation. To date, there have only been 41 facial transplant surgeries conducted anywhere in the globe. The procedure, which was the first of its kind in New York, was carried out by specialists working in the Face Transplant Program at NYU Langone Health. The program is directed by Eduardo Rodriguez, MD, DDS, who is also the head of the Hansjorg Wyss Department of Plastic Procedure and the Helen L. Kimmel Professor of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery.
Grigos and her colleagues were able to study first-hand how the facial transplant process modifies the movement of the face and leads to increased speech output by using optical tracking, a sort of motion-tracking technology. This allowed for the hands-on examination. The data from the case study patient, a man who was burned to a third and fourth degree and lost a significant amount of soft tissue in a fire, was compared to the data from four adult men who had not suffered serious facial trauma. The case study patient was a victim of the fire.
One evaluation of the patient’s speech output and facial movements was conducted before the operation, and further evaluations were conducted once before, once during, and four after the surgery, respectively. The pre-transplant and post-transplant movements of the patient’s lips and jaw, as well as the intelligibility of his speech, were compared before and after the transplant and then recorded over the patient’s recovery time.