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Comparative Cost Analysis of Conventional Reconstructions and the First US Face Transplantation

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The Know-How of Face Transplantation

Abstract

While the ethical and technical concerns regarding facial transplantation have been discussed throughout this book, there is a lack of information regarding its cost. Moreover, there is no information available in the literature on the financial implications of complete reconstructions in patients with severe craniomaxillofacial defects. We have had the unique opportunity to compare the cost of traditional reconstructive procedures and face transplantation in a single patient in our institution. In addition, we have also been able to compare the financial data of three other patients who underwent conventional reconstruction in other institutions: Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York and the University of Chicago. As the field of transplantation evolves, it will become increasingly important to disseminate this valuable information. Given the current economic climate in medicine, it will undoubtedly be a central issue to the face transplant debate. The following chapter illustrates these issues by comparing the cost of multistaged conventional reconstructive procedures in four patients with the cost of the first US face transplant.

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Abbreviations

ATG:

Anti-thymocyte Immunoglobulin

CMV:

Cytomegalovirus

CPT:

Current Procedural Terminology

CTA:

Composite Tissue Allotransplantation

ESRD:

End-Stage Renal Disease

G-CSF:

Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor

MMF:

Mycophenolate Mofetil

PCP:

Pneumocystis Carinii Jerovici

PCV:

Pneumococcal vaccine

PTSD:

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plastic Surgery, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Maria Z. Siemionow

Authors
  1. James R. Gatherwright
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  2. Frank Papay
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  3. Risal Djohan
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  4. Elliott H. Rose
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  5. Lawrence J. Gottlieb
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  6. Maria Z. Siemionow
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maria Z. Siemionow .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Plastic Surgery A/60, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Euclid Avenue 9500, Cleveland, 44195, Ohio, USA

    Maria Z. Siemionow

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Gatherwright, J.R., Papay, F., Djohan, R., Rose, E.H., Gottlieb, L.J., Siemionow, M.Z. (2011). Comparative Cost Analysis of Conventional Reconstructions and the First US Face Transplantation. In: Siemionow, M. (eds) The Know-How of Face Transplantation. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-85729-253-7_29

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-85729-253-7_29

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