14 years after undergoing Turkey’s first full face transplant, Uğur Acar was reunited last Friday with the medical team that performed the historic face transplant operation at Akdeniz University Hospital in Antalya – a milestone that remains among the greatest achievements in the country’s medical history.
Acar, who suffered severe facial burns as a baby, met with Akdeniz University Rector Dr Özlenen Özkan and Dr Ömer Özkan on 23 January to mark the anniversary of the surgery on 21 January 2012. “Fourteen years have passed, and it’s really hard to believe. You realise how fast time goes by. When we look at Uğur’s face and see that happiness in his eyes, maybe that is the most sacred part of being a doctor,” she said in statements reported by the DHA agency.
“In 2010 we performed the country’s first arm transplant and one of the few double arm transplants in the world. In 2011 we performed the world’s first uterus transplant, and happily the patient had a baby. In 2012 we performed the first full face transplant: it was one of the most difficult operations. Looking back, we have learned a lot,” Dr Özlenen Özkan emphasised.
“The face transplant was like living the movie Face Off. The person we put on the operating table and the person who came out were very different. Dr Ömer and I felt it at the same time, in a matter of a second. The old Uğur had disappeared and a new one was coming. A completely different person was emerging. It was a really fantastic feeling for both of us. Professor Ömer felt the same,” she added.
“I am happy, I am at peace,” says Uğur Acar
Uğur Acar, recipient of the country’s first facial transplant, is happy after 14 years of living with his new face: “I was 18 years old when I had my transplant. Now I am 32. 14 years have passed and even the year of my transplant is starting to seem far away. I feel happy, and at peace.” “The person from whom I received the face was about 32 years old (when he died). Since 14 years have passed, I am now exactly in the year when Ahmet Kaya (the donor) passed away and donated his face. I myself have reached that age. I am happy, I am at peace. I say thank you, again and again, to Ahmet Kaya’s family,” said Acar.
Uğur Acar was only one month old when a fire broke out in his family’s house in the village of Gebece – in the Manavgat district of Antalya province – in southern Turkey, causing extensive and disfiguring burns to his face. After years of medical difficulties and social limitations, at the age of 18 he became the recipient of the country’s first face transplant. The operation was performed on 21 January 2012 by Dr Ömer Özkan and Dr Özlenen Özkan, together with their team of doctors, at Akdeniz University Hospital. The delicate operation lasted 9 long hours, and received a great medical and media attention both in Turkey and internationally.
“Before the face transplant, my social life and quality of life was limited. I could not work. I could not participate in social activities. I could only go out with certain restrictions,” Acar confessed. “Now, after a long time, after becoming Turkey’s first face transplant patient, people know me differently,” said Acar, who ended with a message of hope and new life for the future: “Maybe one day I will get married, if there is someone who can open my life, my face and my future to brighter days.” Let’s hope so.
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Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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