Women who underwent the first face transplant in the U.S. in 2008 after her husband blasted her with a shotgun in a failed murder-suicide has died at the age of 57
- Dr. Frank Papay announced Connie Culp’s death in a Thursday release
- She was 57, and her cause of death has not yet been released
- Culp first made headlines when she was shot in the face with a shotgun by her then-husband, Thomas Culp, in September 2004
- She underwent the 22 hour, two day, surgery in 2008
The first recipient of a partial face transplant in the United States has died at the age of 57, a doctor who worked on her 2008 surgery confirmed on Thursday.
Dr. Frank Papay, chair of the Cleveland Clinic’s Dermatology and Plastic Surgery Institute, did not list Connie Culp’s cause of death in his statement.
Dr. Papay had been on the woman’s surgery team in 2008 and had been in charge of her care since, WKYC reports.
Connie Culp, the woman who was the first face transplant in the U.S., has died at the age of 57
‘Connie was an incredibly brave, vibrant woman and an inspiration to many. Her strength was evident in the fact that she had been the longest-living face transplant patient to date,’ the doctor said.
Dr. Frank Papay, who worked on Culp’s 2008 surgery,
‘She was a great pioneer and her decision to undergo a sometimes-daunting procedure is an enduring gift for all of humanity.’
Culp first made headlines when she was shot in the face with a shotgun by her then husband, Thomas Culp, in September 2004.
Thomas was jailed for seven years for the failed murder-suicide attempt.
Culp underwent close to 30 corrective surgeries prior to undergoing the transplant surgery.
The Cleveland Clinic surgical team integrated functional facial components and various tissue types to come up with 77 square inches of transplanted tissue.
The tissue types included skin, muscles, bony structures, arteries, veins and nerves.
The strenuous surgery took two days, over the course of 22 hours.
Culp first made headlines when she was shot in the face with a shotgun by her then husband, Thomas Culp, in September 2004
Culp’s surgery took two days, over the course of 22 hours