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A firefighter who completely disfigured his face in a rescue attempt just underwent one of the most extensive face transplants ever. The 41-year-old firefighter from Mississippi was given the face of a 26-year-old man who had just recently died in a cycling accident. The procedure was performed with a 150-person medical team from New York Univesity Langone Medical Center in a 26-hour surgery. This volunteer, whose face was burned and disfigured during a home fire rescue just got the most extensive face transplant. After the surgery, 41-year-old Patrick Hardison now has a face of 26-year-old David Rodebaugh, an extreme BMX cyclist pronounced brain dead after a cycling accident. Patrick was given a full scalp, face, including nose, ears, lips and eyelids, reports Reuters.

Years after the raging fire of 2001, Patrick Hardison will be able to finally sleep by closing his eyes, protecting his blue eyes from blindness that seemed inevitable until now, said Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez, lead the plastic surgeon. The surgeries on both the people took place simultaneously with Rodebaugh on one table and Hardison on another. The team of NYU doctors practiced for this moment for a full one year before they performed the complex surgery. Rodriguez told the Reuters in a news conference, "You only have one chance to land the Rover. The same goes with the face".

The team slit the skin off the Rodebaugh's head and draped it onto the face of Hardison like a batman's cowl. Rodriguez said, "Everything has to be perfectly positioned," including the bones, muscles, ear canals, lips and nerves. The estimated cost of the surgery is $1 Million which will be borne by NYU. The case was undertaken by the university after Hardison's friend reached out on his behalf. Hardison in a statement thanked his donor's family, saying, "I hope they see in me the goodness of their decision, reports Gizmodo.