A position paper in support of face transplantation in the blind.

ABSTRACT

Facially disfigured blind patients have historically been considered for face transplantation with skepticism. Although no formal position paper regarding their exclusion has been published to date, functional, social, rehabilitative, and ethical concerns related to blind patients' candidacy for face transplantation may be inferred. The authors provide a summary of these reservations and a counterargument to their assumptions, drawing on outcomes measures reported for face transplant procedures performed to date, and their own institutional experience in performing face transplants on blind patients. The authors therefore provide a rationale for the inclusion of facially disfigured blind patients in face transplantation protocols in the future.