Turkey’s first face transplant patient Ugur Acar celebrated the 10th anniversary of the operation with his doctor Ömer Özkan, Akdeniz University Rector Özlenen Özkan and the team. The doctor Özkan said that the most unforgettable moment before the historic operation was Acar’s reaction when Özkan asked if his patient was ready. “I asked Acar if he was ready for the operation. He replied if ‘I’ was actually ready. His answer was epic” the doctor said.
Stating that it has been a 10 years full of struggle with bitterness and sweetness, Rector Özlenen Özkan said, “It has been a very good 10 years for us. It was a 10 years filled with bitter and sweet struggles. Our adventure started 12 years ago as we performed the first arm transplant in Turkey, followed by the uterus transplant and then the first face transplant. At the head of this whole team it was my teacher Ömer Özkan. It would not have been possible to do this without him. It’s glad to have him in our team. The first face transplant attracted more attention. It was probably a reflection of life from the movies. In this sense, it was different from other transplants. It has been a good year together with Ugur Acar,” he said.