A Frenchman whose body rejected a face transplant after seven years has received a second face from another donor in an unprecedented operation that surgeons had doubted was feasible.

The world’s first face transplant was carried out in France 12 years ago and French surgeons have again made medical history by replacing one transplanted face with another.

The recipient, in his 40s, who has not been named, had lived for nearly two months without a face after suffering a rejection of the first transplant. He was kept on life support in an induced coma after his original graft was removed in November.

A statement issued by France’s biomedical agency and the national hospital service said: “This graft shows for the first time... that re-transplantation is possible in the case of chronic rejection" of a donor face.

It will be weeks before doctors can say whether the second transplant, which took a day to perform, has been successful.

They are hoping it will mark a breakthrough, allowing them to replace the faces of patients who suffer rejections.

Face transplants are still rare, with fewer than 40 operations carried out so far.