Dave’s Wagon

President of the Xijing Hospital, in Xi’an, capital of Shaanxi Province, Zhang Yingzhi announced news of the transplant here on Friday.

“The surgery is even more complex than the first face transplant in France in Nov. last year,” said Han Yan, deputy director with the hospital’s plastic surgery department.

The patient, Li Guoxing, 30, had two thirds of his face — mostly on the right side — replaced in an operation that lasted 14 hours and ended on Friday morning.

Surgeons in France carried out the world’s first such operation on a 38-year-old Isabelle Dinoire whose lips and nose were ripped off by a dog.

Li Guoxing was given a new cheek, upper lip, nose, and an eyebrow from a single donor.

Li’s face, nevertheless, had been marred when he was assaulted by a bear in 2004. He has since lived as a recluse because of his horrific disfigurement.

The hospital performed the surgery free of charge after learning of his plight and his poverty.

President of the Xijing Hospital, in Xi’an, capital of Shaanxi Province, Zhang Yingzhi announced news of the transplant here on Friday.

“The surgery is even more complex than the first face transplant in France in Nov. last year,” said Han Yan, deputy director with the hospital’s plastic surgery department.

The patient, Li Guoxing, 30, had two thirds of his face — mostly on the right side — replaced in an operation that lasted 14 hours and ended on Friday morning.

Surgeons in France carried out the world’s first such operation on a 38-year-old Isabelle Dinoire whose lips and nose were ripped off by a dog.

Li Guoxing was given a new cheek, upper lip, nose, and an eyebrow from a single donor.

Li’s face, nevertheless, had been marred when he was assaulted by a bear in 2004. He has since lived as a recluse because of his horrific disfigurement.

The hospital performed the surgery free of charge after learning of his plight and his poverty.