Chimp Mauling Victim's Face Transplant Revealed

Charla Nash

The Connecticut woman whose face was ripped off by a chimpanzee in 2009 received a face transplant in May. Charla Nash's family showed a photograph of the 57-year-old, and Nash herself revealed to the Today Show that she can even smell and taste again. She said, "I’m beginning to feel my jaw and chin. And I can move my mouth and smile. I still feel weak. But little by little I’m getting stronger."

Nash was visiting her friend and employer Sandra Herold when Herold's 200-pound chimp Travis attacked her. Nash "lost her nose, lips, eyelids, hands and bone structure in her mid-face and suffered significant brain, eye and tissue injuries in the attack." (Travis was killed by police officers; Nash's family is suing Herold's estate and Connecticut.) Nash does not remember the attack, but has been in hospitals for the past two years.

According to Today, after the face transplant surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Nash "was moved to an assisted-living facility, unable to eat solid food and breathing through a tube." But then she had her first meal: Eggs and cream cheese. Her daughter Brianna is thrilled: "It’s just good to see such rapid progress and the happiness that wasn’t there before... A new hope has sparked. It’s so nice to see her at it again," adding, "Just for her to make an expression - something we had to take from her words before. It’s nice that her body language can say what she feels."

A double-hand transplant for Nash failed when she suffered pnuemonia, but doctors may attempt another if Nash wishes. Dr. Bohdan Pomahac said, "For a blind patient, I think the hands do provide the contact to the outside world, and ultimately, the road to independence ... and that's why I think she will want to have it done in the future." He also said, "I'm not sure you're aware of the person Charla is. To us, she's not a woman who was mauled by a chimpanzee. To us, Charla is a courageous, strong person who inspired the team to do everything possible."