THE first face transplants in Britain will be carried out in Scotland under plans being put together by a team of surgeons.

Discussions are under way to bring the controversial surgery, which involves transplanting the face of a dead donor on to a patient who has suffered severe disfigurement, to Glasgow.

A team of surgeons at the city's Southern General Hospital are working on plans to be amongst the first in the world to carry out the pioneering operation.

Only 20 people have so far had face transplants. The first operation was in France in 2005.

During the transplant, medics remove the face, or part of it, from a deceased donor and attach it to a patient whose own face has been permanently damaged by illness or injury.

The recipient will normally end up resembling a cross between himself or herself and the donor.

A spokeswoman from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) confirmed talks were taking place between surgeons and managers, but emphasised they were at a very early stage.

The surgeons are led by maxillofacial surgeon Colin MacIvor, who has had specialist training in France and hopes to set up a national face transplantation service for Scotland.

An NHSGGC spokeswoman yesterday said the introduction of face transplantation was "at the very early stages of discussion but it is something we are considering".

The high-profile transplant has so far only been performed by a select few surgeons.

French woman Isabelle Dinoire became the first person to receive a face transplant eight years ago after she was mauled by a dog.