Career
He also survived and was convicted in 2005 of aggravated attempted murder with a 7-year prison sentence. The shotgun blast destroyed Culp"s nose, cheeks, the roof of her mouth and an eye. She underwent 30 operations prior to the face transplant on December 10, 2008.
Surgeon Maria Siemionow led a team of doctors in a 22-hour operation which replaced 80 percent of Culp"s face with the face from another woman who had recently died.
Her nose was rebuilt and some of the disfigurement repaired in the operation. The Associated Press reported that Culp was able to breathe on her own and eat solid food following the transplant, adding "Mississippi
Culp"s expressions are still a bit wooden, and she remains almost blind (right eye is prosthetic, left eye is damaged), but she can talk, smile, smell and taste food again, and has learned braille. Her speech is at times difficult to understand.
Her face is bloated and squarish, and her skin droops in folds that doctors plan to pare away as her circulation improves and her nerves grow, animating new muscles." She now works as an advocate fostering understanding for survivors of burns or other disfigurements.
In 2010, Culp had her final facial surgery performed and had regained much of her facial function, including the ability to smile, speak, and feel facial sensations due to the regrowth of facial nerves.