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Face transplants giving people back their lives

Updated 3:50 PM ET, Wed August 24, 2016

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Patrick Hardison, 41, had <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/15/health/face-transplant-firefighter/index.html">face transplant surgery</a> in August 2015. The surgery was performed by a plastic surgeon from New York University Langone Medical Center. Hardison, a volunteer firefighter, was injured 15 years ago.
Photos: Face transplants giving people back their lives
Patrick Hardison, 41, had face transplant surgery in August 2015. The surgery was performed by a plastic surgeon from New York University Langone Medical Center. Hardison, a volunteer firefighter, was injured 15 years ago.
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In 2005, Frenchwoman Isabelle Dinoire, 39, was the first person to undergo a partial face transplant after being mauled by her dog. She is pictured a few months after her surgery and a year later.
Photos: Face transplants giving people back their lives
In 2005, Frenchwoman Isabelle Dinoire, 39, was the first person to undergo a partial face transplant after being mauled by her dog. She is pictured a few months after her surgery and a year later.
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Connie Culp was injured when her husband shot her in 2004. She underwent a near-total face transplant at the Cleveland Clinic in 2008, the first operation of its kind in the United States.
Photos: Face transplants giving people back their lives
Connie Culp was injured when her husband shot her in 2004. She underwent a near-total face transplant at the Cleveland Clinic in 2008, the first operation of its kind in the United States.
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Li Guoxing, China's first partial face transplant patient, stands with his family in 2006. He died in 2008.
Photos: Face transplants giving people back their lives
Li Guoxing, China's first partial face transplant patient, stands with his family in 2006. He died in 2008.
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Texan Dallas Wiens, whose face was burned off after his head touched an electrical wire, was the first American to receive a full face transplant in March 2011.
Photos: Face transplants giving people back their lives
Texan Dallas Wiens, whose face was burned off after his head touched an electrical wire, was the first American to receive a full face transplant in March 2011.
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A 33-year-old Polish man identified only as Grzegorz received the country's first face transplant in May 2013, after being disfigured by a machine at a stonemason's workshop. Polish doctors described it as the world's first life-saving face transplant.
Photos: Face transplants giving people back their lives
A 33-year-old Polish man identified only as Grzegorz received the country's first face transplant in May 2013, after being disfigured by a machine at a stonemason's workshop. Polish doctors described it as the world's first life-saving face transplant.
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American Richard Norris: left, in high school in 1993; center, after suffering a gunshot injury; right, after face transplant surgery.
Photos: Face transplants giving people back their lives
American Richard Norris: left, in high school in 1993; center, after suffering a gunshot injury; right, after face transplant surgery.
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James Maki fell onto the electrified third rail at a Boston subway station on June 30, 2005, destroying the entire of the core of his face. After having a transplant, he said he couldn't wait to eat a ribeye steak.
Photos: Face transplants giving people back their lives
James Maki fell onto the electrified third rail at a Boston subway station on June 30, 2005, destroying the entire of the core of his face. After having a transplant, he said he couldn't wait to eat a ribeye steak.
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