[InactionMan]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4484728.stm



I'm more than a little creeped out by this. But I guess if my face had been chewed off by a dog or burned off I'd rather have a "hyprid face" than no face at all. And people spend thousands of dollars to have their faces and bodies altered. But I've grown accustomed to my face and would be thoroughly disturbed if for any reason I had to radically change the way I look. Not that being severly disfigured is any better but looking in the mirror and seeing a completley normal face that isn't your own would be really hard to wrap by head around.

Yup, this creeped me out so I thought I'd share it.

[Moogs]

Brain dead donor... interesting. So I guess this person was on a ventilator and the family consented to ending the harsh reality of brain death by allowing this? It is kind of strange. Not like a heart transplant where after you know there's something inside giving life. Now it's on the face of the person... though hybrid.

There could be great use of this for burn victims too I think. I've seen a number of horribly disfigured, scarred faces from burns... I think I might even prefer a hybrid to my own personal scars, ya know? Sort of lose your identity but at least after the healing you wouldn't get so many shocked stares.

Maybe it's an acceptable solution to an ugly problem (and I mean ugly as in hard to decide not vanity ugly).

[murbot]

God, imagine seeing some guy walking around with your dad's face on. Yikes.

[Kickaha]

Yeah, not really. The skeletal structure makes the face much more than the skin does. This is why forensic facial reconstruction works so well from just a skull.

[psmith2.0]

Sounds like something John Woo would make a movie about. Oh wait...

But seriously, that's really something.

As mentioned above, it's odd to think that there are people paying thousands of dollars to basically do this on purpose (change their face and monkey with genetics). To have it move into such an area (entire face replacement) is entering into the funky sci-fi realm a bit!

In 20-30 years, will techniques be perfected to such a degree that the technology might be exploited by criminals and spy types?

Wow...imagine.

I like my face, but if I'd had it chewed off or badly burned I think I'd choose "looking like a slightly different person" over "looking like someone who had their face chewed off".

Interesting to see where this will go, in years to come...

[murbot]

Just wait until they can do cock transplants. That's where the money will be.



(yeah, I could have said penis)

heh

[Kickaha]

Now *that's* an *organ* donation...

[Luca]

Originally Posted by Dr. Kickaha Now *that's* an *organ* donation...

[scratt]

No one's getting mine! I don't care if I'm dead or not. Take the liver, kidneys... whatever... no problemo... But keep your hands off that it's coming with me...

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by murbot Just wait until they can do cock transplants. That's where the money will be. (yeah, I could have said penis) heh

No guy - even if he's DEAD - is going to sign away his weinee. Ever.

We'd donate our head, both legs and arms, spine and torso before we gave up the goods.

Even the most atheistic, "when we die, that's IT" type is going to hedge his bets and hang onto the wang...just in case.



Talk about cruel irony. You die, then discover that there IS an afterlife of some sort (consisting of daily, disease/guilt-free hot sex). And you're running around with a Band-Aid where your tallywacker used to be.

[Robo]

If my face was disfigured, I think I'd prefer to go the "ominous mask" route, like the Phantom of the Opera.

[chinesebear]

Originally Posted by Dr. Kickaha Yeah, not really. The skeletal structure makes the face much more than the skin does. This is why forensic facial reconstruction works so well from just a skull.

wait a minute...if that is true, then why did it work so well in Face Off?!? and what about the scene in silence of the Lambs when Lechter hides under the face of that other guy? you mean those aren't true?!?

[Windswept]

Well, just think of the fact that some people have their head (or, if they're *really* rich, their entire body) frozen in cold storage, waiting for a day when advances in medical technology will provide them with an entirely new body (for the head) or a cure for some disease their body had.

Actually it seems like the best thing would be to have one's *brain* saved, waiting for a brand new healthy body at some future time. I'm sure there are people who have done 'that'. It's undoubtedly the most *cost-efficient* option when it come to 'cold storage'.

Or, to have one's 'body' cloned and have the brain saved for that. (I'm sure that 'exact' thing was already done in about 12 different movies I missed. :P )

[Moogs]

Originally Posted by murbot Just wait until they can do cock transplants. That's where the money will be.

I dunno man... only guys cursed with horrifyingly small ones might go for this. That and members of the Lesbian Aggressor Squadron. Dong technology is all nerve endings and blood storage thingies... complicated stuff even for a surgeon I imagine.

Imagine a guy who is cursed with a mere 4.5" dong (horrifying isn't it?). Now imagine he had the chance to have a 9" dong surgically transplanted where his existing one is (you can just hear the locker room banter "twice as big!"; "elephant dong!"; "hung like a T-Rex!"), BUT, there would be better than a 50% chance you'd lose some sensation during sex. And that's being conservative. Even in super-imaginary world where penile transplants are available at drive-throughs (Futurama?), nerve damage or dysfunction would be common.

Should he go through with it? Now thankfully I would not have to contemplate such things. I am no elephant dong, but more than manly enough to please the ladies consistently... but if I had the misfortune of being born with such a thing, I am not sure I would do it.

And before you call me names for posting such a detailed question, I must remind you who brought it up, you deranged bastard.