PHILADELPHIA, Oct 13, 2004 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- U.S. plastic surgeons attending a conference Wednesday in Philadelphia learned of a new technique for a complete facial transplant.

The approach entails inserting a tissue expander in a patient's back to create a single large piece of thick skin, with its own unique blood supply, to allow for microvascular tissue transfer.

Surgeons then remove scarred facial skin, harvest the skin flap from the patient's back and transfer it to the patient's face, a spokesman for the American Society of Plastic Surgeons Plastic Surgery 2004 conference said.

The transferred skin flap is large enough to completely cover the face, providing enough extra tissue to create a nose, which otherwise would require a separate surgery.

The team then closes the donor site on the back without requiring skin grafts from the leg to close the wound, eliminating huge scars that accompanied previous techniques.

Psychologically, burn victims not only have to struggle with their perception of their changed appearance, they also have to deal with how other people perceive them. They often suffer both functional and emotional trauma, which can be alleviated with reconstructive surgery, officials said.

• More news on Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery

Related MedlinePlus Pages:

• Burns
• Facial Injuries and Disorders
• Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery