LONDON, England -- "It may be someone else's face, but when I look in the mirror, I see me."

These are the words of Isabelle Dinoire, the recipient of the world's first face transplant.  She states that she has regained feeling in her face and she intends on returning to the workplace this year.

Following Dinoire's success, a number of similar transplant operations are planned in Europe.

Ethical issues surround this complex procedure and some experts question whether a face transplant is actually in the best interests of the recipient, citing the risk of identity crisis.

For Dinoire, the ethical issues were secondary when she agreed to have surgeons graft human facial skin parts (from a woman who had committed suicide) onto the part of her face that had been mauled by her dog.  Instead of reconstruction, French surgeons Dr. Jean-Michel Dubernard and Dr. Bernard Devauchelle stitched on a nose, chin and mouth from a brain-dead donor.  This created some controversy in France, as the grafts were done without first attempting reconstructive surgery.

Questions arose, such as whether the recipient be able to cope with looking like someone else or whether or not the recipient would take on the facial characteristics of the deceased donor.  For Dinoire, the outcome has been that she remains recognizable from her original face.

According to a leading European research team, skin from a donor grafted onto facial bones will take form around those facial bones, with the result that the recipient will maintain most of his/her features and not take on the appearance of the donor.

Dinoire's successful face transplant is viewed by some as an important first step in expanding the world of transplants.  As an example, transplant experts have already predicted that by 2008, we may see successful womb transplants for infertile women.

Given the risk that the recipient's body rejects the new skin - a risk that could exceed 50% of all cases - the profession remains divided over the high risk procedure of face transplants.  This is compounded by the fact that a failed facial transplant will leave the recipient far worse off than before the operation.  Other risks include cancer that can be caused by the immuno-suppressive drugs that are required to prevent the recipient's body from rejecting the organ.