Seven years ago, Maurice Desjardins lost his nose, lips, teeth and upper and lower jaws when he was accidentally struck by a bullet from a hunting rifle. In the years that followed, surgeons were never able to fully rebuild his face.
鈥淭his guy didn鈥檛 have nose or lips. He didn鈥檛 have an upper jaw, lower jaw; he couldn鈥檛 speak couldn鈥檛 swallow and couldn鈥檛 breathe properly,鈥� plastic surgeon Dr. Daniel Borsuk told CTV鈥檚 Your Morning on Monday.
But four months ago, that all changed. That鈥檚 when the Montreal surgeon successfully performed the first face transplant in Canada, after spending six years planning for the historic surgery.
Dr. Borsuk says his team at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital in Montreal wanted to give Desjardins the simple abilities to speak, eat and sleep.
鈥淏asically everything that you or I take for granted, that鈥檚 what we wanted to give him.鈥�
Before the surgery, Desjardins鈥� life was one of constant pain from the scar tissue and the damaged nerves in his face. Before Borsuk, surgeons who operated on Desjardins had used bone chiseled from his fibula鈥攁 bone in the calf鈥攖o try to reconstruct his face. But he was still left with two holes where his nose used to be and a puckered mouth that he couldn鈥檛 close, which meant he was constantly drooling and couldn鈥檛 eat.
Borsuk wants everyone to know that Canada can offer 鈥済old-standard treatment鈥� to patients looking for major facial reconstruction.
鈥淚 think a lot of the times we see Canadians that say 鈥榤aybe there鈥檚 a better option outside the country,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 nice to offer gold-standard treatment to all of our entire population.鈥�
鈥淲e have fantastic surgeons, great medical and health system and it鈥檚 nice that we鈥檙e finally able to offer this type of procedure to anyone.鈥�
His patient, Desjardins, had spent years breathing through a tracheostomy鈥攁 tube inserted into a hole in his windpipe that he used to breathe. The team wanted to give him the ability to breathe on his own.
鈥淲e wanted him to look normal. We wanted him to walk around in public without anyone look at him,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd for his wife to sleep able next to him without those awful sounds coming out of his tracheostomy.鈥�
But Desjardins still has a long road to recovery.
鈥淚t鈥檚 only been four months, and he still doesn鈥檛 have the use of his lips,鈥� Borsuk said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 starting to smile. He鈥檚 starting to eat and drink better but it鈥檒l probably be another six months before he鈥檚 smiling.鈥�
Dr. Daniel Borsuk was the lead surgeon who performed Canada's first face transplant surgery earlier this year and says it'll be "be another six months before he鈥檚 smiling."
But part of that recovery actually started well before the surgery. For two years, Desjardins was regularly evaluated by psychiatrists.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just transplanting an organ, you鈥檙e transplanting a lot more,鈥� Borsuk said. 鈥淲e communicate with our faces, so when you鈥檙e transplanting this you want to make sure that the recipient is able to deal with what鈥檚 going to happen having this new face.鈥�
Borsuk is reluctant to take praise for the groundbreaking surgery and was more inclined to call the donor and their family 鈥渢he true heroes.鈥�
鈥淐an you imagine on the worst day of your life when you lose a loved one and you鈥檙e approached for organ donation and this family gives all the organs of his loved one鈥攊ncluding the face?鈥� Borsuk said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the most harrowing day of their life and they鈥檙e going ahead and probably giving the most generous gift you can give to another person. It鈥檚 unbelievable. So they鈥檙e the true heroes.鈥�
For the Montreal surgeon, his most recent success was the result of years of experience which began back in 2012. Then, he was a fellow at the University of Maryland and a part of the surgical team who performed a pivotal face transplant surgery in Baltimore, Md.
In that case, Borsuk sheared away the scar tissue of the recipient, a 1997 gunshot victim, and prepared the face of a 21-year-old brain dead organ donor.
Since then, he鈥檚 used his skills for facial reconstruction and worked with children with cancer or burns scars; mutilated pitbull attack victims and children born with so-called 鈥渆lephant man鈥� disease or neurofibromatosis鈥攁 genetic disease which gives them deformed bones, malformed skulls and jaws.
