Richard Norris is seen before (L) and after (R) his face transplant surgery in this combination of undated handout photos released by the University of Maryland Medical Center. Surgeons from the University of Maryland Medical Center on March 27, 2012, detailed what they said was the world's most comprehensive face transplant, allowing the 37-year-old Virginia man to emerge from behind a mask 15 years after a gun accident that almost took his life. Norris of Hillsville, Virginia, was shot in the face in 1997 and lost his nose, lips and most movement in his mouth. Since that time, he has had multiple life-saving and reconstructive surgeries but none could repair him to the extent where he felt he could return to society. He wore a prosthetic nose and a mask even when entering hospital for the transplant. REUTERS/University of Maryland Medical Center/Handout