Poughkeepsie Native Mauled By Chimp Fights Face Transplant Problems

The Poughkeepsie native who had a face transplant after being attacked by a chimp seven years ago is experiencing a "moderate" rejection of the tissue, doctors say, according to a report by The New York Times.

Face transplant recipient Charla Nash, a Poughkeepsie native and former Stamford, Conn., resident, was being treated at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, after her immune system started to attack the transplanted tissue.
Photo Credit: *brighamandwomens.org*

Carol Reif

05/05/2016 3:15 p.m.

Charla Nash was mauled in Stamford, Conn., by Travis, a chimp who belonged to her friend Sandra Herold, according to multiple media reports.

Nash lost her nose, ears, lips, hands and eyesight in the attack.

Travis, a 200-pound primate who had appeared in television commercials, had to be shot dead when he went after police officers responding to the attack scene, media reports said.

According to The New York Times, Nash had recently been participating in a study intended to help wounded soldiers and others who have been maimed.

Doctors at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston were weaning Nash off anti-rejection drugs as part of the experiment, but tests showed that her immune system was attacking the transplanted tissue, The New York Times reported.

Doctors said Nash, who had also undergone a failed hand transplant, was not in danger of losing her face, but they were removing her from the research study, The New York Times story said.

To read The New York Times article, click here.

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