Volunteer firefighter receives 'extensive' face transplant

A volunteer firefighter who suffered a full face and scalp burn while responding to a Mississippi house fire has received the "most extensive face transplant to date," according to New York University Langone Medical Center.

The surgery, which lasted 26 hours, started on August 14. More than 100 doctors, nurses and staff were involved, the medical center said Monday.

Patrick Hardison, 41, was injured in September 2001 after a roof collapsed on him during a rescue search inside a burning home.

"He lost his eyelids, ears, lips and most of his nose, as well as his hair, including his eyebrows," according to the medical center.

The latest surgery provided for the transplantation of a donor's eyelids and "blinking mechanisms," which have helped Hardison immensely since he was in danger of losing his eyesight.

The donor was 26-year-old New York artist and competitive bicyclist David Rodebaugh. He had died after a biking accident in Brooklyn.

According to the medical center, Hardison was able to blink on the third day after surgery and sitting up in a chair within a week's time.

Three months later, Hardison is "returning to the routines of daily life independently," the medical center said.

"I used to get stared at all the time, but now I'm just an average guy," Hardison said, the AP reports.