Woman who got face transplant at Cleveland Clinic has normal life again, doctor says

By Kaye Spector

Plain Dealer Health and Medical Writer

 

Connie Culp, the recipient of the first-ever U.S. face transplant, now can do many of the things we all take for granted: smile, squint, purse her lips and feel her grandson’s kiss on her cheek.

Culp, 47, had her last surgery — to remove excess skin at the jawline — at the Cleveland Clinic in mid-July and has returned home to Unionport in Jefferson County.

She also has returned to a normal life, says her physician, Dr. Maria Siemionow. After the latest surgery, she can go out in public without people staring at her and saying hurtful things.

“She is happy, as happy as she can be,” Siemionow said. “She is very surprised that no one is paying attention to her when she goes out.”

Culp lost the middle of her face in the fall of 2004 when her husband shot her before turning the gun on himself. He survived the shooting and is in prison.

Culp underwent the groundbreaking transplant in December 2008 after nearly 30 procedures failed to help. She couldn’t eat solid food, drink from a cup, smell or taste.

The only way she could breathe was through a hole cut into her throat.

Siemionow led a Clinic team that transplanted 80 percent of the face and underlying anatomy from a cadaver. Culp made her first appearance in public in May 2009.

Since then, much function has returned to Culp’s face, Siemionow said, because her nerves have grown back.

“Her face was flat like a mask without a lot of expression after surgery,” Siemionow said. “She now has a vivid face with full expression.”