April 25, 2013, 7:30 pm Kane 220
Challenges of Facial Transplantation
co sponsored by UW Division of Plastic Surgery
The lecture presents challenges encountered during establishment of Face Transplantation Program at 
Cleveland Clinic. These include medical, surgical as well as ethical challenges. The process of patient selection as well as face transplant outcomes are also discussed.
Prof. Dr. Maria Siemionow is a world-renowned Polish scientist and micro-surgeon. She gained public notice in December 2008, when she led a team of six surgeons in a 22-hour surgery, performing the first face transplant in the United States. Dr. Siemionow is leading the way in developing new technology for minimal immunosuppression in transplantation, and enhancement of nerve regeneration. Dr. Siemionow has been the Director of Plastic Surgery Research and Head of Microsurgical Training for Cleveland Clinic’s Department of Plastic Surgery since 1995. In 2005, she was appointed Professor of Surgery in the Department of Surgery at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Siemionow has been honored with numerous awards including the Polish Order of Merit, the Commander’s Cross Polonia Restituta Award and the SAPIENTI SAT Medal. She currently serves as President of the American Society for Reconstructive Transplantation and is past president of the International Hand and Composite Tissue Allotransplantation Society, as well as the American Society for Peripheral Nerve.