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NEWS > HEALTH > TRANSPLANT PATIENT SHOWS WORLD VERY UNATTRACTIVE FACE
TRANSPLANT PATIENT SHOWS WORLD VERY UNATTRACTIVE FACE
May 6 2009
Cleveland, OH – The face has been called the roadmap of the soul. Every wrinkle, scar, and blemish a landmark on the path of a life. The face is also our first point of recognition, that one part of the human anatomy that can provoke lust, anger, longing, and familiarity like no other. It is also a fundamental part of our own identity.
People define themselves by their face, we pamper it like no other part of their body for it is forever linked to our sense of self. For the world’s first transplant victim, it has been a long time since that was the case.
The shotgun blast that nearly killed now 46-year Connie Culp 5 years ago forever changed the path of her life. Barely surviving, Culp struggled for years with having virtually no face with which to identify herself. Now, the recipient of the United States first face transplant has finally revealed herself to the world as one of the most unattractive famous faces ever photographed. 
“When somebody has a disfigurement and don't look as pretty as you do, don't judge them, because you never know what happened to them,” said Culp at the press conference. “I'm not a monster. I'm a person who was shot.”
Reasons for the deformity aside, looks have long been a major factor in determining a person’s celebrity status. Prominent personalities such as Brad Pitt, Will Smith, and Julia Roberts have made a career on having an appealing and presentable visage. 
“Let’s be blunt here. It’s a nice story and groundbreaking piece of medical science but she’s not an overly attractive person. She can eat and speak now which is a wonderful thing but trotting her out is little more than a sideshow curiosity. If someone has gall bladder surgery they don’t go around showing the international media their scar,” said Scrape TV Medical analyst Dr. Phillip Waites. “She is instantly recognizable and like all celebrities that is going to erode her privacy. Medical procedures are generally meant to better ones health, not make them stars.”
Celebrities though are apparently watching the Culp case with great interest. Plastic surgeons from all across the Los Angeles area have flown into Cleveland to get a first-hand look at the progress of Culp’s healing with a focus on altering their procedures for the ever aging Hollywood elite.
“It is smart of them to at least take a look. Say you had a younger man who looked like Tom Cruise. Cruise is sitting here getting older by the minute and this guy isn’t going to be using his face to make millions of dollars so you just swap them out and both people go on with their lives,” continued Waites. “In theory you could give celebrities youthful looking faces forever. You could have an 80-year old man with a 20-year olds face and that has to be appealing for a lot of stars and a lot of surgeons.”
Such a process was the plot for the 1997 Nicolas Cage- 
John Travolta action movie ‘Face-Off’. At the time of its production face transplant technology was thought to be pure fantasy but recent events have proven otherwise.“I think it would be a stretch to start looking at any of their other movies to see what may happen in the future. I think a future of white jump suited treasure hunters would be downright scary and not something that we should be looking to accomplish. This particular advance though definitely improved this woman’s life but it’s going to be a long time before anyone does this for monetary reasons,” continued Waites. “All that said, we do let Michael Jackson walk around with that face. He’s far scarier than Culp and people actually make an effort to see him. Perhaps dramatic surgical scars are appealing and it’s just the small ones that are a little less appealing. That said, she should probably just keep her private life private and stay out of the spotlight.”
It’s not immediately clear if Culp has significant acting or singing talent or if she is interested in pursuing those fields.
Lauren Hebert, Health Correspondent
NEWS > HEALTH > TRANSPLANT PATIENT SHOWS WORLD VERY UNATTRACTIVE FACE
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