The 37-year-old was pictured seven months after doctors gave him a new face,
teeth, tongue and jaw which involved 36 hours of surgery.
Mr Norris can now feel his face, brush his teeth, shave and has regained his
sense of smell.
After shooting himself in the face in 1997, he lived as a recluse in Virginia,
US, for 15 years, shielding himself behind a mask and only emerging at
night.
Speaking after surgery, he said: “I am now able to walk past people and no-one
even gives me a second look.
“My friends have moved on with their lives, starting families and careers. I
can now start working on the new life given back to me."
He received the new face in March from an anonymous donor whose organs saved
five other patients' lives on the same day.
Multiple life-saving, reconstructive surgeries have replaced nerve and muscle
tissue from scalp to neck.
Motor function is now 80 per cent on the right side of the face and 40 per
cent on the left.
The transplant was led by Dr Eduardo D. Rodriguez, professor of surgery at the
University of Maryland School of Medicine and chief of plastic,
reconstructive and maxillofacial surgery at Shock Trauma.
The pioneering surgeon said: “Before, people used to stare at Richard because
he wore a mask and they wanted to see the deformity.
“Now, they have another reason to stare at him, and it's really amazing.'
Dr Rodriguez described how Mr Norris opened his eyes on the third day after
surgery with his family around him. “He put the mirror down and thanked me
and hugged me," he said.
“We concealed all the lines so it would give him the most immediate best
appearance with minimal touch-ups down the road.”
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