Connie Culp was the first person in the US to receive a near-total face transplant, carried out at the Cleveland Clinic.<br />According to CNN, the Cleveland Clinic announced Saturday that Culp died on Wednesday. She died of an infection unrelated to the transplant.<br />Culp lost the mid-portion of her face after being shot by her husband in 2004.<br />The Ohio mother of two was left partially blind, unable to smell and speak, and she had to rely on a surgical opening in her neck to breathe.<br />In 2010, Culp met the family of her donor, Anna Kasper of Lakewood, Ohio.<br />Connie was an incredibly brave, vibrant woman and an inspiration to many. Dr. Frank Papay Chair, Cleveland Clinic's Dermatology and Plastic Surgery Institute
