• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
BlackDoctor.org
Where Wellness & Culture Connect

Where Wellness & Culture Connect

  • Health Conditions
  • Wellness
  • Lifestyle
  • Longevity
  • COVID-19
  • Find A Doctor
  • Subscribe
Home / Lifestyle / Plastic Surgery / Meet the First African American to Receive A Face Transplant

Meet the First African American to Receive A Face Transplant

(Photo credit: Lightchaser Photography / J. Kiely Jr)

In a 16-hour surgery, Boston doctors just completed the first full face transplant for a black patient, who also happened to be the oldest patient to ever undergo the procedure.

Robert Chelsea was having car trouble one Monday night in August 2013, so he pulled onto the shoulder of a highway outside his home near Long Beach, Calif. Soon after, a drunk driver slammed into his car, and it burst into flames. Chelsea, a sales manager for a rubber-stamp business, was rushed to a hospital with third-degree burns covering almost half his body.

All Chelsea remembers is his car flying into the air, coming down and blowing up — with him inside it.

After being transferred to the University of California Irvine Medical Center, Chelsea spent four months drifting in and out of consciousness as doctors fought to save his life. He had 18 surgeries in that time—mostly skin grafting for his burns, but also abdominal operations to treat serious gastrointestinal complications that had developed as his body struggled to stay alive. Blood pressure medications shunted blood flow to his heart and away from his extremities, leading to tissue death in his lips, nose and fingers. One of his surgeons, Dr. Victor Joe, called him “one of the sickest patients we’ve had.”

You May Also Like
9 Foods You Should Never Eat after Age 30

Chelsea left UC Irvine in December 2013 with his life—but by the end of his recovery he would lose his lips, the end of his nose, several fingertips and two-thirds of his intestines. His face was severely scarred, and his hands were covered in cadaver skin that matched Chelsea’s skin tone but never quite mimicked its texture; Chelsea called it his “snakeskin.” All told, he would eventually carry the skin of three different people. An organ donor himself before the accident, he had no idea how difficult replacing his skin would prove to be.

He turned down the first face he was offered. It was a fine face, one that could have taken him off the transplant waiting list after just a couple months. But…

Continue Reading

The Latest In Plastic Surgery

African American woman plastic surgery

5 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Getting that Butt Lift or New “D” Cups

Considering a little nip here or tuck there? Be sure to ask yourself or your doctor these five vital questions before going under the knife. 1. Why are you getting plastic surgery? In case you missed it, BlackDoctor.org recently spoke read more about 5 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Getting that Butt Lift or New “D” Cups
Sexy woman in lingerie.

Considering A Brazilian Butt Lift? Here’s What You Should Know

By definition, a Brazilian Butt Lift or BBL is the popular butt-raising procedure performed to achieve a more prominent booty that can give a person an hourglass figure. Your own body fat and tissue is used to increase the size read more about Considering A Brazilian Butt Lift? Here’s What You Should Know

Plastic Surgery: Are Selfies Driving the Trend in Young People?

Plastic surgery was once something women, and some men, of a certain age did to maintain their youthful appearance.  Cosmetic surgery was an expensive endeavor only afforded by people in the upper-income brackets.  According to a report by the American read more about Plastic Surgery: Are Selfies Driving the Trend in Young People?

Social Media Fitness Star: Butt Injections Nearly Took My Life

Being an online fitness trainer, Jenelle Butler, better known as @GetBodiedByJ on social media has helped literally thousands of people change their health, their bodies and their lives over the years. She's a natural looking beauty, which makes it's just read more about Social Media Fitness Star: Butt Injections Nearly Took My Life
DOCTOR MAKES HISTORY WITH FIRST-EVER EAR TRANSPLANT TO CURE DEAFNESS

Doctor Makes History With First-Ever Ear Transplant To Cure Deafness

Professor Mashudu Tshifularo and his team of surgeons have just completed an historic operation that will potentially help many more people who have have lost their hearing or the deaf. Potentially the first procedure of its kind in the world read more about Doctor Makes History With First-Ever Ear Transplant To Cure Deafness

Dr. Jones Talks Tummy Tucks And Pregnancy (Video)

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to our newsletter

Poll

Popular Posts

  • 7 Bad Sleep Habits That Cause Weight Gain7 Bad Sleep Habits That Cause Weight Gain
  • Pooch Hall: Family Over EverythingPooch Hall: Family Over Everything
  • Black Health History: Rosa ParksBlack Health History: Rosa Parks
  • Home Remedies For Your Dry SkinHome Remedies For Your Dry Skin
  • 10 Cities With The Highest HIV Rates10 Cities With The Highest HIV Rates

Podcast

Diabetes prevention and management podcast

Dr. LeNoir is joined by Dr. Lenore Coleman, a Pharmacist and Founder of Healing Our Village, as they offer you the tools you need to prevent and manage diabetes.

Listen Now

Footer

Where Wellness & Culture Connect

BDO is the world’s largest and most comprehensive online health resource specifically targeted to African Americans. BDO understands that the uniqueness of Black culture - our heritage and our traditions - plays a role in our health. BDO gives you access to innovative new approaches to the health information you need in everyday language so you can break through the disparities, gain control and live your life to its fullest.

Connect With Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Learn More About

  • Hepatitis C
  • Diabetes
  • Sickle Cell
  • Mental Health
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise With Us
  • BlackDoctor.org Advertising and Sponsorship Policy
  • Daily Vitamina
  • TBH

Copyright © 2021, BlackDoctor, Inc. All rights reserved.