“I lived for a reason:” Mayo Clinic Completes Successful Facial Transplant for Survivor of Suicide Attempt

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A man who survived an attempt to take his own life has been given a new face to embark on his new lease on life. 

See Also: Celebrities Treated at Mayo Clinic in Rochester- Find Out Who

Derek Pfaff says he attempted to commit suicide while he was in college in March of 2014. 

The attempt left his face severely damaged by a gunshot and prevented from performing basic functions such as eating solid foods and conversing with friends and family, according to a Mayo Clinic news release. 

If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, visit the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline website. Resource information is provided for free as well as a chat message service. To speak directly to a professional, call 988. You are not alone and help is available. Every life is important.

The 30-year-old Michigan man underwent 58 facial reconstruction surgeries over the course of 10 years before turning to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester for a facial transplant. 

Get our free mobile app

50+ Hour Surgery at Mayo Clinic in Rochester Leads to Successful Face Transplant for Young Michigan Man

Mayo says a team of more than 80 healthcare professionals spent more than 50 hours to give Pfaff a new face. The transplant surgery, conducted in February of 2024, involved reconstructing and replacing 85% of Pfaff’s face, maily from his eyebrows and down, with donor tissue. 

Dr. Samir Mardini led the surgery and said the procedure took several months to plan and involved the use of digital tools that allowed the medical professions to ensure Pfaff would wake with a new and fully functioning face. 

"Most organ transplants are lifesaving. With facial transplantation, it's a life-giving operation. You can live without it, but you are missing out on life," Dr. Mardini said in the news release. 

Mayo says Pfaff can now eat solid food, breath normally, use his eyelids, smile and perform all of the other functions of a normal face thanks to the transplanted facial muscles and nerves. 

"I lived for a reason. I want to help others," Pfaff says. "I am so grateful to my donor, his family and my care team at Mayo Clinic for giving me this second chance." 

Mayo Clinic conducted its first facial transplant in 2016. Mayo says more than 50 facial transplant surgeries have been done across the world since the first procedure 19 years ago.