Acar, who suffered serious burns to his face during a house fire that occurred when he was just 40 days old, underwent a successful face transplant operation last month at Akdeniz University Hospital. The face transplant was made possible after the family of Ahmet Kaya, who had been declared brain dead two weeks ago, donated all of his organs.
Acar saw his new face for the first time on Monday and had his first shave. “I thank Turkish doctors,” were among his first words after seeing his new face in the mirror. He said he would like to visit his ailing mother after he is discharged from the hospital and then call on the family of Kaya, his donor.
In a written statement issued by Akdeniz University, Dr. Ömer Özkan, a professor from the department of plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgery at Akdeniz University's faculty of medicine, and Dr. Özlenen Özkan, head of the department of plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgery at the same faculty, were said to have not left Uğur Acar's side since he arrived at the university hospital for the surgery.
Dr. Özkan told the press on Monday morning that 24 days have passed since Acar's critical operation was successfully performed, adding that Acar's condition is better than expected. “Uğur had his first shave. Uğur is both mentally and physically a very strong young man. His being strong makes our job easier. We are lucky to have such a patient. We are continuing to give him treatment to prevent tissue rejection. After a week, we will start cutting down on his medication. He can actually resume a normal life, but we would like to keep him here at the hospital for a little while longer,” Dr. Özkan said.
