Amazing recovery of a man who had full-face transplant

A man who underwent a full face transplant after suffering horrific injuries in a car crash has praised its results, and says that he now feels like ‘another face in the crowd.’ Mitchell Hunter sustained life-changing injuries in a 2001 car crash that resulted in the loss of his face and one of his legs. But in 2011, Mitchell’s life was changed yet again when he became only the second person in America to undergo a full face transplant. The 14-hour operation gave him a nose, eyelids – and even restored sensation in his skin. Five years on, Mitchell, a former soldier, has now praised the results of the operation, saying it transformed his life.
The 35-year-old said: ‘I feel just as healthy as I did when I was 21, and I feel great.
‘It’s a lot easier going out in public. I don’t get the stares. I’m just another face in the crowd, and that’s all I ever wanted.’

Describing how the operation restored facial sensations, Mitchell added: ‘Hot, cold, pain, tickle, rubbing my beard, a kiss on my face – I can feel everything.
‘It was amazing, just having sensation like that come back.’
Mitchell was riding in a friend’s car when it crashed into an electricity pylon, sending 10,000 volts up his leg and through his face and causing horrific burns. Mitch underwent more than 20 skin grafts in the following years – but despite the extensive plastic surgery, children still ran screaming from him in the street. When he and his wife Katarina had a son, he decided it was time to get a new face. He said at the time: I’ve had kids run and hide behind their mums because they were so scared when they saw me. That was hard to cope with because my friends started having kids, then my brother had a kid.
‘Then I had Clayton and I didn’t want kids to be afraid of me any more.’