Video: US gun injury victim receives 'most extensive full face transplant to date' He put the mirror down, and thanked me and hugged me. It was a wonderful gift to give him and ever since that day you could see that we are going to restore those 15 years that he's lost and make him a functioning member of society again," said Dr Eduardo Rodriguez, associate professor of surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and head of the transplant team, who spoke at a press conference. Mr Norris' face transplant seems to be the most aesthetically successful to date, according to photographs and video shared with reporters at a press conference. He is still recovering in the hospital and did not appear at the media event. "We concealed all the lines so it would give him the most immediate best appearance with minimal touch-ups down the road," Dr Rodriguez said later in an interview. To ensure Norris would retain maximum function of his facial expressions and movements, doctors gave him a new tongue for proper speech, eating, and chewing, normally aligned teeth, and connected his nerves to allow for smiling. A virtual army of 100 doctors, scientists and other university medical staff ranging from plastic surgeons to craniofacial specialists teamed up for the operation.