BOSTON -- Fifty years ago, the first successful organ transplant was performed at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston. Now, that same hospital is poised for another first, partial facial transplants in the United States.

"The biggest excitement for me is to have a new technique to help the most difficult, the most deformed patients to achieve better results functionally and aesthetically, therefore returning a quality of life," said Dr. Bohdan Pomahac, associate director of the hospital's burn unit and plastic surgeon.

Video: Hospital To Perform Facial Transplants

The first successful partial facial transplant was performed in France more than two years ago. Dr. Jean-Michel Dubernard of the University of Lyon in France was the surgeon who lead the transplant team. His patient, Isabelle Dinoire, had been severely mauled by her pet dog. Dubernard transferred the muscle tissue of an organ donor to Dinoire, giving her a new chin, nose and lips.

Experts say finding suitable donors is a challenge.

"There needs to be a certain amount of matching between the donor and the recipient," explained Richard Luskin, president of the New England Organ Bank. "Not everyone who is a potential organ donor can be a face donor. For example, you need to be about plus or minus 10 years in age. (There) needs to be a reasonable match in color and complexion," said Luskin.

Partial facial transplants may be an option for cancer, burn and other trauma victims. As with other transplants, rejection is a a major risk, requiring recipients to take immunosuppressant drugs.

Now that the hospital has been approved, experts say the next step will be identifying transplant candidates.

"We can begin to look at each organ donor as a potential facial donor. We might find (a candidate) in the first week. It might be six months. It might be a year," said Luskin.

Twenty-eight months after Dinoire's transplant, doctors say she continues to do well. She can eat, drink and speak. They also say she has developed a sensitivity to touch and temperature sensations.

"She can go out. She can go to a restaurant. She can be invited to parties, so she is living a normal life," said her surgeon, Dubernard.