AIIMS Delhi gears up for face transplant surgeries

The All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, is taking a landmark step toward introducing face transplantation, a highly advanced and complex reconstructive procedure.

A training session was organised in the institute.

“As part of this preparation, the Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Burns Surgery is hosting a cadaveric workshop and academic training program from February 11-15, 2026,” said a release issued by the institute.

To lead this advanced training initiative, AIIMS hosted Indranil Sinha, associate chief of plastic surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (part of Harvard Medical School), Boston, an internationally recognised expert in composite tissue allotransplantation and face transplant surgery.

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Speaking on the occasion, Maneesh Singhal, Head of the Department, Plastic, Reconstructive and Burns Surgery, AIIMS, said: “There are a large number of patients suffering from devastating facial deformities due to acid burns, gunshot injuries, and trauma even after ten to 12 surgeries. Identifying the right candidate and counselling becomes essential before considering them for transplantation. Unmotivated, unstable patients, patients with active infection and cancers are not the right candidates for the procedure”.

“Face transplantation is no longer experimental – it is the need of the hour. Developing this capability at AIIMS is essential to provide holistic functional and aesthetic rehabilitation to patients who currently have very limited options,” he said.