The current face transplant patient understood the risk of rejection and of immunosuppressants, doctors said.

CNN: Surgery transplanted most of patient's face

In April 2010, a patient identified only as "Oscar" received the first ever full-face transplant in Spain.

CNN: Face transplant patient ready to go home

By 2004, Siemionow was looking for the right candidate for a face transplant who wasn't doing it for vanity.

CNN: The story

One of the French face transplant recipients was a man who had a genetic disorder that created large tumors on his face.

CNN: Face transplant patient regains self-confidence

The first partial face transplant took place in November 2005 in France.

CNN: Face transplant patient ready to go home

In order for the face transplant to work, nerves that control feeling and movement would have to be attached to be successful.

BBC: Surgery

There's one other patient in line for a face transplant through the same Department of Defense grant that funded Wiens' procedure, Janis said.

CNN: Face transplant patient ready to go home

Some candidates for a face transplant are survivors of trauma, such as burn or accident victims, who have exhausted all other reconstructive possibilities.

CNN: Surgery transplanted most of patient's face

European news media recently reported that a surgeon in Spain received approval for another face transplant, which would be the fifth in the world.

CNN: Face transplant patient regains self-confidence

Connie Culp received the first near-total face transplant in the U.S. She was injured by a bullet in 2004 when her husband shot her.

CNN: Face transplant patients: Where are they now?

Connie Culp of Ohio also represented a face transplant milestone, receiving a transplant of more than 80% of her face at the Cleveland Clinic in December 2008.

CNN: Face transplant patient ready to go home

Doctors chose a woman who survived a shotgun wound to her face as the first recipient of a face transplant after treating her for nearly four years.

CNN: The story

Siemionow, who has been working on face transplant research for 20 years, received approval from the Institutional Review Board in 2004 to conduct a full facial transplant.

CNN: Face transplant patient regains self-confidence

They practiced face transplant operation on cadavers several times.

CNN: How gunshot survivor became first to receive face transplant

The woman who received the first-ever near-total face transplant in the United States told her doctor she has regained her self-confidence, said Dr. Maria Siemionow, head of plastic surgery research at the Cleveland Clinic and leader of the transplant team.

CNN: The story

Currently, cancer patients are not candidates for face transplants because transplant recipients must take immunosuppression drugs for life so that the body does not reject the donated tissue, Siemionow said.

CNN: Face transplant patient regains self-confidence

The lessons were before the transplant, when her face was so badly disfigured, but still he fell in love with her.

CNN: Face transplant recipient's goal: A kiss

In 2007, a French team performed the third partial facial transplant on a man who was disfigured by a genetic disorder that created large tumors on his face.

CNN: Surgery transplanted most of patient's face