MADRID - A Spanish man who underwent the world's first full face transplant has gone before TV cameras for the first time since his surgery.
Identified only as Oscar, the 31-year-old spoke with considerable difficulty at a news conference as he thanked the medical team that gave him a new face in late March at a Barcelona hospital, as well as the family of the donor.
Vall d'Hebron hospital said the man will need between a year and 18 months of physical therapy and expects him to regain up to 90 per cent of his facial functions.
The man has been described as a farmer who was unable to breathe or eat on his own after accidentally shooting himself in the face five years ago.
?? The Canadian Press, 2010