A TEAM of surgeons have been trained to carry out face transplants in Scotland but the NHS is refusing to fund the procedure.

Supported by experts in Paris who performed some of the world's first face transplants, staff based at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow now have the technology and skills needed to offer the operation in the UK.

The maxillofacial transplant service would only be considered for patients with severe facial deformities. It involves removing the face from an organ donor and transferring it to the recipient, reconnecting blood vessels and nerves to allow movement and sensation.

Read more: "Face transplantation builds on skills we use every day" 

David Koppel, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon in Glasgow for more than 15 years and an honorary professor at Glasgow University, said a number of patients in Scotland who may wish to consider undergoing the treatment. However he added it was not practical to offer it if they could not have the transplant in the UK.

After conducting an assessment, NHS National Services Scotland, which oversees very specialised healthcare, decided against funding face transplants in Glasgow saying too few patients would use the service.

Mr Koppel said: "We have been building towards this and it is very disappointing that a Scottish development where we could be leading in the UK and probably internationally has not been deemed to be worthy of support."

Only patients with severe disfigurements which could not be treated any other way would be considered for a transplant, he said.

This could include victims of gun shots, explosions, major road accidents and fires as well as those with conditions such as neurofibromatosis which causes benign tumours to grow.

In a free public talk for Cafe Scientifique at the Tron Theatre in Glasgow on Monday evening, Mr Koppel intends to show pictures of Pascal Coler whose face was hugely disfigured by a genetic disorder.

Mr Coler has worked as an accountant since his face transplant in France and describes the day of his surgery as the best of his life.

Mr Koppel said: "It is all to do with the rehabilitation of patients who are often sitting at home not contributing to society and having a miserable time."

A health board in Scotland has already agreed funding for a patient to travel to France for the operation.

But Mr Koppel said there were a number of drawbacks to patients seeking treatment in Paris, including the need to be there within five to six hours of a donor becoming available and the language barrier.

He said: "There are a number of patients who may well fulfil the criteria for being offered a face transplant but we would not enter that discussion because it is not available at the moment."

The maxillofacial surgery team in Glasgow have been preparing to perform face transplants for around seven years. Mr Colin MacIver, now head of the department, spent a year training in Paris and a group of around seven surgeons have built up the additional skills.

Rehearsal operations have been carried out on dead bodies observed by the Paris surgeons.

Digital technology which shows staff how well a donor face matches the recipient and helps them plan the operation is in place.

Mr Koppel said access to psychological support and transplant co-ordinators has also been organised and the prosthetics team are able to recreate the face of the donor so their body would still appear in tact.

Jean-Paul Meningaud, a surgeon at the Henri Mondor Hospital in Paris and a member of the face transplant team, said he had worked with the Glasgow consultants. He said: "I can confirm that they have all necessary skills to perform such an operation."

Around 40 face transplants have been carried out around the world including seven in France.

Mr Meningaud said: "It is an operation which can be useful for very few patients but when you have the correct indication it is very useful for that type of patient."

A spokesman for NHS National Services Scotland said: "The proposal for a nationally-designated maxillofacial transplant service was considered in 2014 by the National Specialist Services Committee.

“This comprises representatives from across NHSScotland from a variety of disciplines, who review the evidence in favour of each proposed service.

“In this case, there were too few procedures a year to sustain a specific service.”

Health Secretary Shona Robison said: “We want Scotland to be at the forefront of cutting edge healthcare and we support the proposal to establish a national face transplant service in Glasgow in principle, provided such a service is both safe and sustainable.

“The National Specialist Services Committee has considered a proposal for a face transplant service but are yet to be convinced that there is sufficient demand in Scotland."