March 21, 2019

Another face in the crowd

By Karl Oestreich

KTTC
by Tom Overlie

Two years ago, a first-of-its kind surgery took place at Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic’s first face transplant recipient, Andy Sandness. A surgery that was so complex, it took surgeons and team members nearly KTTC-10-Rochester logothree years to plan and practice. One man was the recipient of all the work. Andy Sandness is Mayo Clinic’s first face transplant recipient. A failed suicide attempt in 2006 destroyed his face. For years, the Wyoming man endured many surgeries at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Skin grafts. Scars. Dental implants. Still, he looked deformed. And then, in 2016, after three years of planning, Dr. Samir Mardini and a team of dozens from Mayo devised a way to give Andy a new face. The surgery took 56 hours. “I can’t say enough good things about what they brought me in my life,” Andy says.

Reach:  KTTC-TV Channel 10 is the Rochester, Minnesota-based NBC affiliate.  Its website has more than 160,00 unique visitors each month.

Context: It has been 2½ years since Andy Sandness was wheeled into an operating room at Mayo Clinic's Rochester, Minnesota, campus for a 56-hour marathon surgery to give him a complete face transplant. You can read and view more about Andy on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Contact: Kristy Jacobson

Tags: Andy Sandness, Dr. Samir Mardini, face transplant, KTTC, Uncategorized

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