Reconstructive surgery on zombie attack victim

pinkrobot · Dec 29, 2010

I have NO idea where I'd start researching this topic.

The MC of my story is a girl who's been attacked by a zombie, but by the time she's been attacked there is an antidote/cure/what have you, and she is given this treatment before she actually dies. She survives, but half of her face has been ripped off (essentially) and the damage done to her flesh is permanent, because even though she didn't die, the parts of her flesh that were attacked did die.

So, the questions I'm needing answers to are:

1) If this was a real possibility (for something to happen to someone as described above), would reconstructive plastic surgery be doable? (Meaning, can plastic surgery be done on dead flesh?)

2) If so, what would need to be done to reconstruct someone's face if it was missing a bottom lip, most of one cheek, part of the neck, and part of its chin?

Kitty Pryde · Dec 29, 2010

IRL if the flesh dies, it has to be removed because it will be infected and spread the infection throughout the body. If you're envisioning a partly-zombified face, well, it's fantasy so go to town. Research face transplants. Surgeons have successfully replaced large parts of people's faces in a handful of cases. I believe the first recipient (warning: this is gross) attempted suicide and while she was knocked out her dog chewed most of her face off. The face transplants don't make you look anything like normal, more like not-scary enough to go out in public without making a major scene, and repair functioning like eating, smiling, not drooling, eye problems, etc.

Fenika · Dec 29, 2010

I'd also suggest looking closely at anatomy texts, and some images of face wounds.

On a related note: What they did to twoface at the end of the last Batman was .... Batshit stupid, really. Muscle and tissue doesn't take damage that way.

shaldna · Dec 29, 2010

Kitty Pryde said:
IRL if the flesh dies, it has to be removed because it will be infected and spread the infection throughout the body. If you're envisioning a partly-zombified face, well, it's fantasy so go to town. Research face transplants. Surgeons have successfully replaced large parts of people's faces in a handful of cases. I believe the first recipient (warning: this is gross) attempted suicide and while she was knocked out her dog chewed most of her face off. The face transplants don't make you look anything like normal, more like not-scary enough to go out in public without making a major scene, and repair functioning like eating, smiling, not drooling, eye problems, etc.

I think this is the womanyou are talking about

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2005/dec/01/france.medicineandhealth

and her eis another example.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10765005

Kate Monster · Jan 5, 2011

Reconstructive plastic surgery would be possible (some kind of surgery would almost certainly be necessary, in fact, for the victim to live), but the necrotic - dead - flesh would have to be removed. That said, plastic surgery isn't magic. Talented surgeons could give her a face that, with a lot of makeup, would keep people from gawking at her in the streets, but that's about it. She would have extensive facial scarring for the rest of her life, as well as some lesser, but also permanent scarring in the areas (often thighs or buttocks) from which the surgeons took skin for grafting. She would likely have some difficulty eating and speaking, as well, as mouths aren't easily replaced.

Neck injuries are tricky, too, because if someone takes a big bite out of your neck, they're liable to hit your carotid artery, which would cause you to bleed out extremely quickly. Assuming she survived, though, the same situation applies. Surgery is possible, but scarring would be extensive.

P.S. I'm a med student. I'm no plastic surgeon, but I'm not just pulling this out of my ass.

pinkrobot · Jan 6, 2011

Kate Monster said:
Reconstructive plastic surgery would be possible (some kind of surgery would almost certainly be necessary, in fact, for the victim to live), but the necrotic - dead - flesh would have to be removed. That said, plastic surgery isn't magic. Talented surgeons could give her a face that, with a lot of makeup, would keep people from gawking at her in the streets, but that's about it. She would have extensive facial scarring for the rest of her life, as well as some lesser, but also permanent scarring in the areas (often thighs or buttocks) from which the surgeons took skin for grafting. She would likely have some difficulty eating and speaking, as well, as mouths aren't easily replaced.

Neck injuries are tricky, too, because if someone takes a big bite out of your neck, they're liable to hit your carotid artery, which would cause you to bleed out extremely quickly. Assuming she survived, though, the same situation applies. Surgery is possible, but scarring would be extensive.

P.S. I'm a med student. I'm no plastic surgeon, but I'm not just pulling this out of my ass.

Perfect, this helps!

Since I first posted this thread, I've opted to eliminate the dead-flesh factor (for the sake of reality, I don't want this story to be too sci-fi). But this is exactly what I needed to know.

Miguelito · Jan 6, 2011

Why not look at necrotizing fasciitis (flesh-eating disease) or severe frostbite as example of what can and can't be done for flesh that dies while the patient lives?

pinkrobot · Jan 6, 2011

Miguelito said:
Why not look at necrotizing fasciitis (flesh-eating disease) or severe frostbite as example of what can and can't be done for flesh that dies while the patient lives?

Good idea. NF is about what I had in mind for the character's appearance, so that would be perfect. Thanks for the suggestion.

Kate Monster · Jan 6, 2011

pinkrobot said:
Perfect, this helps! Since I first posted this thread, I've opted to eliminate the dead-flesh factor (for the sake of reality, I don't want this story to be too sci-fi). But this is exactly what I needed to know.

No problem. Glad I could help!

Reconstructive surgery on zombie attack victim

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