Poland's first face transplant patient was discharged from the hospital today, speaking with some effort at a press conference just 11 weeks after the extensive surgery that saved his life.
The 33-year-old man said he owes his doctor "everything" following a skin-and-bone transplant on May 15, three weeks after losing his nose, upper jaw and cheeks in an accident at the brick factory where he worked.
Doctors say it was the world's fastest time frame for such an operation.
Doctors who performed the transplant at the Cancer Center and Institute of Oncology in Gliwice, in southern Poland, said the rehabilitation is proceeding surprisingly fast, thanks to the "courage and determination" of the patient, identified only as Grzegorz.
He can breathe on his own, see, eat, taste and speak, although his speech is hard to understand because the face muscles still need to regain mobility. When that is achieved, through intensive exercise, he will need surgery on his right eyelid, which remains motionless. At the news conference, his eyes were hidden behind sunglasses.
He will need to avoid large gatherings and sick people to protect against infection. He will take medication for the rest of his life, the anaesthesiologist, Dr Sebastian Giebel, told the news conference.
He will be able to resume work, though he will have to avoid working in agriculture, where he could catch fungi infection from the soil, according to Dr Adam Maciejewski, who led the 27-hour operation.
The patient took the microphone to thank his doctors. "My speech isn't clear, but it's really important that it is there," he said. "I know it's still a long way."
His words were transcribed in a broadcast by TVN24 after the press conference.
