America’s first face transplant patient Connie Culp who had surgery after husband blasted her with shotgun dies at 57
THE first person in the US to receive a partial face transplant after a failed murder-suicide attempt has died.
Connie Culp, a 57-year-old from Ohio, made headlines in 2008 when she successfully received an almost full face transplant.
“Connie was an incredibly brave, vibrant woman and an inspiration to many,” Dr Frank Papay, chair of the clinic’s Dermatology and Plastic Surgery Institute who was part of her surgery, said in a statement.
, Culp’s daughter, Alicia Culp, was posted on social media on July 23 that her mom was sick.She said that while eating lunch together in 2008, months before her transplant, Culp’s prosthetic nose fell off as they were eating.
Culp, who was nearly blind after the shooting, took the nose off and threw it in her purse, her sister said.
Weeks later, as the two ate at the same restaurant, Oberlin said she tried to hold Culp’s hand to guide her out of the building.
But Culp resisted, telling Oberlin, “I can see pretty good today,” before hitting the restaurant’s glass doors face-first.
“It’s a good thing I didn’t have my nose on,” Oberlin said her sister remarked. “It would’ve smooshed into my face.”
Oberlin said of her twin: “Nothing gets Connie down. Nothing. She won’t let that happen.”
Culp said during a 2019 interview with the Plain Dealer: “I’ve met probably 10 women that actually had a gun pointed at them.
“The only difference is the gun wasn’t loaded. I say, ‘The next time it might be.’ I never thought that he would do that to me.
“And look where I am. I’m just lucky that somebody was able to fix me.”
An estimated 40 people have undergone face transplants across the globe as of August 2018.