21-year-old Katie Stubblefield has become the youngest person in the United States to receive a face transplant.

Her story, which is a tragic one, began in 2014, when then 18-year-old Katie tried to take her own life with a shotgun, causing devastating damage to her face. She was found by her brother, Robert, who called an ambulance.

Katie doesn’t remember the events of that day, but her injuries severely impaired her vision and breathing. She has had multiple surgeries, the most recent of which would give her her face back.

CNN reports:

It was in Memphis where Katie’s parents, Robb and Alesia, heard the term “face transplant” for the first time.

“There was an older trauma surgeon who basically told us, ‘It’s the worst wound that I’ve ever seen of its kind,’ and he said, ‘The only thing I can think of that would really give her functional life again is a face transplant,’ ” Robb said.

“I was standing there thinking, ‘What do you mean, a face transfer? What do you do?’ ”

When Katie was later told about the possible procedure, she said, she was equally stunned.

“I had no clue what a face transplant was,” Katie said. “When my parents helped explain everything to me, I was very excited to get a face again and to have function again.”

Full and partial face transplants involve repairing parts or all of the face with tissue including bone, skin, nerves and blood vessels from a deceased donor.

You can see before and after pictures of the surgery below:

Katie’s procedure involved transplanting the scalp, forehead, upper and lower eyelids, eye sockets, nose, upper cheeks, upper jaw and half of lower jaw, upper teeth, lower teeth, partial facial nerves, muscles and skin — effectively replacing her full facial tissue, according to Cleveland Clinic.

Katie (seen above before her suicide attempt) is one of only 40 people in the world who has undergone the procedure.

Before Katie’s face transplantation, surgeons at Cleveland Clinic used 3D printing to help reconstruct about 90% of her lower jaw, said Dr. Brian Gastman, a plastic surgeon at Cleveland Clinic who led Katie’s surgery and oversaw her care.

The surgical team used CT scans of the jaw of Katie’s older sister, Olivia McCay, to 3D-print a model template for the reconstruction.

“We made a plate designed for the combination of Katie and her sister’s jaw, and that’s what we used to make Katie’s jaw before we did the transplant,” Gastman said.

He noted that when he first saw Katie’s injury, he worried that she might not live.

In March 2016, Katie was put on the transplant waiting list. 14 months later, a donor was found:

Katie underwent extensive psychological evaluation as a face transplant candidate and suicide survivor.

After she was cleared to receive her new face, the 31-hour surgery began May 4, 2017. It involved 11 surgeons, several other specialists and virtual reality. The surgery was completed the next day.

“I am able to touch my face now, and it feels amazing,” said Katie, who still has some difficulty speaking clearly.

Her father, Robb, translated some of her sentiments: “You take it for granted, the different components of our faces — the bone, the tissue, the muscle, everything — but when it’s gone, you recognize the big need. Then when you receive a transplant, you’re so thankful.”

Katie wants to use her experience to raise awareness about the lasting harms of suicide and the value of life.

You can learn more about Katie’s surgery from the surgeons who performed it here:

If you are struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts, help is at hand here.

[source:cnn]