Chimp attack victim's face 'looks fantastic' after historic transplant

msnbc ^ | 6-10-11 | Linda Carroll

[calex59]

Male chimps are notorious for attacking humans, especially male humans because they see them as rivals. Chimps are cute when they are young but as the males grow into puberty they become vicious.

[2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten]

I did - I saw some footage of the video - she looks not human. The only things that I saw that weren’t disturbing were the before pictures of her, the pictures of the owner’s daughter, and the computer generated photo of a face that wasn’t an actual photo.

[katana]

All the chimps they used in the Tarzan movies were females and, as with most films that use live animals, a number of lookalikes were available to film depending on the behavior they needed for each scene. Nobody with any sense would work with a male. They are about as large as a smallish human and incredibly strong and aggressive.

[2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten]

Actually they have the old videos and new videos co-mingled. On the new video they obscure her face so you can’t tell either way. They *say* she looks good but you’re not allowed to see.

[dynachrome]

You guys might remember Doc S. talking about this case.

Don’t mess with chimps. bad things happen.

[Jonty30]

Then it would be a relative term. The fake that she now has a nose and recognizable features, is fantastic compared to what she had before.

[katana]

They mentioned in the report that photos haven’t yet, as she heals, been allowed of the lady’s new face. But the daughter seemed to think the results were fantastic and that’s, after all, what really counts.

[Jonty30]

My fake was supposed to be a fact, even if it turned out fake.

Stupid auto-correct setting.

[heartwood]

Chimps go for the face, hands and genitalia. They are probably the most deliberately vicious animals out there when they attack - destructive of the essence and identity of their victims. Even most human murderers aren’t that terrible.

[fwdude]

Chimps, like any wild animals, are NEVER suitable for pets. I’m appalled that anyone would have one exposed to other people and the public. The owner should be held as directly culpable in this.

[fwdude]

Under obamacare she would not have had the chance at the surgery, cost to much so let her suffer.

Yeah, just give her a "pain pill."

[Jonty30]

Not to mention, that if they injure you, they start to eat you.

[fishtank]

Ye.p!

[dorothy]

Once heard part of an old radio interview with Johnny Weismuller in which he was asked about working with Cheetah. I can’t remember it exactly after all these years, but I do recall that he said they always kept a sap handy in case Cheetah acted up.

[sockmonkey]

In the coming decades as this technology is perfected I’d like to see it used on our boys who got hit with IEDs to see if they can’t get their looks back.

From the American Organ Transplant Association website:

The Department of Defense is hoping that it will be able to use the findings from the transplant (of Dallas Weins) to aid in the creation of treatments for soldiers with facial wounds that are considered severe. The Pentagon is the country’s leader when it comes to funding research on facial transplants. Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and The Cleveland Clinic have received millions of dollars to fund face transplants. The doctors and researchers that are involved in the surgeries are contributing to a collective knowledge that will help soldiers that have been disfigured in combat – some of them so much so that existing procedures were of little use.

Earlier this year, the military identified its first candidate from the ranks of the enlisted to be considered for a facial transplant. The procedure is still considered experimental, so the military has moved with caution, but with the success of Dallas Weins’ transplant, there seems to be some eagerness to help the men and women in uniform.

[LucyT]

An important comment that affects us all:

In the coming decades as this technology is perfected I’d like to see it used on our boys who got hit with IEDs to see if they can’t get their looks back.

From the American Organ Transplant Association website:

The Department of Defense is hoping that it will be able to use the findings from the transplant (of Dallas Weins) to aid in the creation of treatments for soldiers with facial wounds that are considered severe.

The Pentagon is the country’s leader when it comes to funding research on facial transplants. Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and The Cleveland Clinic have received millions of dollars to fund face transplants. The doctors and researchers that are involved in the surgeries are contributing to a collective knowledge that will help soldiers that have been disfigured in combat – some of them so much so that existing procedures were of little use.

Earlier this year, the military identified its first candidate from the ranks of the enlisted to be considered for a facial transplant. The procedure is still considered experimental, so the military has moved with caution, but with the success of Dallas Weins’ transplant, there seems to be some eagerness to help the men and women in uniform.

[Rushmore Rocks]

It’s amazing what medical technology can accomplish. Obamacare will totally destroy the incentive for innovation and improvements.

Side note: The grandson of a very dear friend stepped on a IED last week in Afghanistan. He lost one leg, one arm, his spleen and a kidney. Multiple wounds all over his body. The only part of that young man that escaped injury was his face.......and his very brave heart and soul.

IMHO......we need to bring them home now.

[WFTR]

Chimps, like any wild animals, are NEVER suitable for pets.

I agree that chimps should not be pets. Other "wild" animals can make excellent pets.

With anything we do, there are risks. Dogs can be very dangerous pets. Cats are less dangerous to people but a menace to native bird populations. Horses can be nice enough animals, but their size and strength means that when they have a reaction to something, that reaction can produce disastrous consequences.

To understand the risks, we need to see how the animal processes information and what tools the animal has to do damage. Animals that integrate us into their social hierarchy can be fun pets because we share certain bonds. However, that integration also means behaviors that can be more dangerous. The neighbor's dog may try to attack me in my yard or on a public street because the dog sees that ground as "his territory" and me as an intruder. The neighbor's boa constrictor is never going to see me that way. The neighbor's dog can chase me down if he decides to attack. A sugar glider is not going to be able to chase me down.

Chimps seem to have the horrible combination of volatile temperaments, incredible strength, and a desire to incorporate us into their view of "society." What applies to them doesn't necessarily apply to any other exotic animal.

[chiefqc]

Nah, it cost to much.