How a 31-year-old drug addict gave her face to an 18-year-old suicide (4 photos + 1 video)

9 April 2024

This story began in 2014, when an 18-year-old girl decided to commit suicide.

Katie Stubblefield quarreled with her boyfriend and couldn't think of anything better than to shoot herself in the face with her older brother's hunting rifle. The pretty face was instantly turned into mince, but the girl was not destined to die. She survived and suddenly realized that life is a cool thing and she no longer intends to say goodbye to it.

In order to somehow exist, she had to undergo 17 operations, doctors literally tried to restore her face from scratch. In 2017, a decision was made that was unique in its logic and complexity. Doctors at the Cleveland Clinic decided to transplant Katie with a new face from a donor. The girl was lucky; doctors, with pinpoint precision, managed to remove the face from 31-year-old Adrea Schneider, who died of a drug overdose. This operation lasted 15 hours.

The photo was named one of the 21 most unusual images of the 21st century by National Geographic.

The second operation took another 16 hours. In total, correcting the mistake of the 18-year-old fool required 31 hours of continuous work by 11 surgeons. The transplantation began on May 4 and ended on May 5.

On the left is Katie Stubblefield at 17, eight months before her suicide attempt. On the right is Katie at age 22, one year and one month after surgery.

Katie's procedure included grafting of the scalp, forehead, upper and lower eyelids, eye sockets, nose, upper cheeks, upper jaw and half of the lower jaw, upper and lower teeth, partial facial nerves, muscle and skin.

This is what she looks like now. Her vision was never fully restored, but the woman can now lead a completely normal life.