Victim Of Chimp Attack Seeking Face, Hands Transplants

New York (WPIX) - The family of a Connecticut woman, whose face was severely disfigured following a brutal attack by a 200-pound chimpanzee, is reportedly looking for a facility that can perform both face and hand transplants for her.

The Cleveland clinic, currently treating 55-year-old Charla Nash, said that it cannot perform both transplants as initially planned, family attorney Bill Monaco announced Monday. He reportedly said the transplants have to be done simultaneously and come from the same donor.

The clinic said it does not have the capability to perform the hand transplant surgery, according to Monaco. He said the facility has not been ruled out the possibility of working with another hospital in order to get the procedures done.

Nash's family is currently researching possibilities of the transplants at a few other hospitals in the United States and one in Canada.

A face transplant would help Nash smell, breathe and eat, while a hand transplant would help her be more independent, Monaco said.

Even if Nash finds a facility that can perform both transplants, the surgeries would not be able to be done for years.

The attack occurred last February when Nash was visiting the home of her friend Sandy Herold. The chimp named Travis - who was suffering from Lyme Disease and had the anti-anxiety drug Zanax in his system - had escaped from the house. Herold and Nash were both trying to coax Travis back into the home when he inexplicably went berserk and launched an attack on Herold.

Herold stabbed the chimp in the back and Travis was ultimately killed after police fired shots at him.

Nash's family launched a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Sandy Herold. However, prosecutors said in December they would not charge Herold because there was no evidence she knowingly disregarded any risk the animal posed.

Nash appeared on the Oprah show in November to talk about the tragic incident.

On the show, Nash said she doesn't recall the attack that left her without hands, a nose, lips and eyelids.

"I don't remember anything and they {paramedics} told the doctor that I don't want to remember," she told Winfrey.

Nash said as a result of her injuries, she is now forced to eat everything through a straw and can't breathe through her nose. Nash said she rarely touches her face so she doesn't know the full extent of her injuries and said doctors are forced to change the bandages on her face daily.

"I don't ask a whole lot about my injuries," she said. "I know that I have my forehead."

Source:wpix.com/