Face transplant & breast reconstruction at Cleveland Clinic

In this BuildMyBod Health podcast, we're lucky enough to speak with a plastic surgeon extraordinaire! Steven Bernard is a plastic surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic specializing in microsurgery. Through the use of precision instruments and an operating-room microscope, he is part of the team that performs breast reconstruction daily and also performed the world's first, full face transplant at the Cleveland Clinic six years ago.

 

By using a microscope to connect very small blood vessels and re-establish the blood supply to various tissues, Dr. Bernard can reconstruct a woman's breast by using skin from her abdomen. In this podcast, you'll hear about the DIEP flap for breast reconstruction that doesn't sacrifice the abdominal muscles like older techniques.

 

You'll also hear the harrowing story about Connie Culp, the recipient of the world's first full face transplant. According to Dr. Bernard, her wonderful attitude made her the perfect candidate for a face transplant procedure that took over 24 hours to perform.

 

 

To learn more about Dr. Bernard and Cleveland Clinic, click here. To learn more about the world's first full face transplant, click here. Listen to more of the BuildMyBod Health Podcast by clicking here.