Fame transplant surgeon is not the motivation

Cleveland - The nation of the first face transplant is a high risk not only for the severely disfigured woman who received it, but also for the surgeon who did the climax of his career.

The Cleveland Clinic's Dr. Maria Siemionow has put his professional reputation on the line doing a radical operation that some consider immoral praise, but others as the only hope for people horribly disfigured by burns, trauma, cancer or violence.

He spent more than a decade of preparation, and its fame is not the motivation, he said in an interview a few years ago.
"I can not do something to compete in life if not with me. I compete with me, "he said.

That is not just an overachiever for fluent in five languages, has made a reputation on several continents, as part of a skilled microsurgeon.

Siemionow (pronounced SIM-en-hour), 58, grew up in Poland. As a girl, had private lessons in English, he studied Russian and learned German in high school. Has learned during two summers Spanish in Barcelona as an exchange student.

After medical school in Poznan, Poland, was trained in Belgium, Spain and Finland.

Working with doctors for peace in Turkey, has worked for many children with their hands burned.

"They looked like a big paddle," he said, and she would separate the fingers and skin graft between them.

'Learning experience'
Siemionow come to the United States in 1985 for a fellowship in hand surgery in Louisville, Ky., The nation where the first hand transplant was done in 1999. E 'was the Cleveland Clinic in 1995.

He has done hundreds, maybe thousands of transactions in 30 years. She knows that the results are only partially under the control of a surgeon.

"Many patients think that they have repaired the tendons and not have to carry hundreds of times a day", and blame the surgeon, when in the end with a rigid finger, he said.

These "learning experiences" as you call them, you have taught a lesson: "Be more critical on how you evaluate a patient."

Video

Doctor describes a face transplant surgery
Dec. 17: A doctor in the Cleveland Clinic describes the procedures necessary to complete in the neighboring country, the first full face transplant, which has 22 hours to complete.
MSNBC

And 'why, after the hospital adopted its draft, has spent more than three years his first face transplant patient selection. Put candidates through formal interviews, looking for someone with a serious disformity, "is not a po 'di scar."

The person must be "psychologically stable, but not happy", where the risks of the operation would be offset by its potential benefit, said in interviews. The person must be psychologically strong enough, with good family support, to undertake to take anti-rejection drugs for the rest of their lives.

Asked what wants to know a patient, he replied: "everything we can. It 'a commitment by both parties. "

"You do not Toot your horn but she has done its duty," said Dr. Alan Lichtin, vice chairman of the board of the hospital review that approved the transplant plans.

The right temperament
Temperamentally, Siemionow seems ideal for this task. Her hands are small and delicate, almost childish. He has blond hair dye, he likes to look strong, and speaks of herself in terms of confidence, but humble.

During the surgery, "I like it quiet," he said. "I can not read when there's music, preferring to give full attention to a task at a time.

Her husband is a biomedical engineer and his son is training to become an orthopedic surgeon.