Full Face Transplant Patient Makes First Public Appearance

The head of the surgical team, Dr. Joan Pere Barret, said Monday that Oscar will need between a year and 18 months of physical therapy and is expected to regain up to 90 percent of his facial functions. He is now being released from the hospital and sent home.

He is able to drink liquids and eat soft foods, and has been able to speak for the past two months, the hospital said in a statement. The patient also has regained feeling in most of his face and is partly recovering movement of his muscles. One good sign was that a week after the operation, he had to be shaved because of beard growth.

A Spanish man who underwent the world's first full face transplant appeared before TV cameras Monday for the first time since his surgery, thanking his doctors and the family of the donor.

At the news conference, Oscar seemed relaxed as he looked out at reporters with eyes he cannot yet close completely. A younger woman identified as his sister, whose name was not given to protect the family's privacy, said her brother looks forward to leading a normal life.