Superbug Kills Face, Hand Transplant Patient

By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 16, 2009 2:11 AM CDT
Superbug Kills Face, Hand Transplant Patient
French surgeons Laurent Lantieri and Christian Dumontier.   (Getty)

A French man who received a groundbreaking face and double hand transplant to repair damage from severe burns has died from a massive infection, reports the Independent. The patient, 30, suffered a heart attack during surgery to battle a super bug invasion in his face. Despite the problem, his body did not reject the transplants, said doctors. He was the sixth person in the world to receive a face transplant. One other died in China after ceasing drugs to fight rejection of transplanted organs.
(More France stories.)

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