Beauty Guide

As in the 1999 movie “Faceoff,” face transplants have been the fodder of science fiction. Until now. Dr. Maria Siemionow of the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, is now interviewing five men and seven women to the chance to have the first-ever face transplant. Dr. Siemionow has assembled a team of experts and has performed such surgical procedures on animals and scores of cadavers. For people desperate enough to pay the price, the prospect of changing a face disfigured by burns or other accidents for a better one may soon be realized. Critics point to the possibility that the body will reject the transplanted face, causing it to slough off in a few days, leaving the patient worse off then before the operation.

To one degree or another, we are all concerned with self-image and self-esteem. We all want to look our best, to have an appearance that at least does not prompt shocked stares or looks of disgust. Until now, our choices have been rather limited. Lose some weight. Trim your beard. Comb your hair, at least once in a while. We can easily become obsessed with the way we look, focusing on our perceived imperfections so much that we never climb out of the pit of feeling self-conscious around others.

Fact is, the clich

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