Amazing face transplants (GRAPHIC IMAGES)

Katie Stubblefield became the youngest face transplant recipient in 2017 at the age of 21. 

Now, she is featured in the cover story of National Geographic magazine's September issue titled "The Story of a Face," which details her medical journey. She is also featured in National Geographic's full-length documentary "Katie's Face."

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Stubblefield was just 18 when she put the barrel of her brother's .308-caliber hunting rifle below her chin and pulled the trigger. She survived, but the injury resulted in the loss of her face.  On the right, we see Stubblefield in National Geographic with her new face, one year and one month after her 2017 surgery.

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Stubblefield's new face came from Adrea Schneider, above, who died in 2017 after a drug overdose. Her family shared this photo with National Geographic.

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Stubblefield's surgery effectively replaced 100 percent of her facial tissue. Here, Stubblefield visits her sister and baby nephew. Stubblefield's eyes are often dry and painful, so she sometimes wears a protective plastic film over them.

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A 64-year-old man in Canada became the oldest person in the world to receive a face transplant in 2018. His face was disfigured in a hunting accident. He received a donor's face in a 30-hour operation that involved more than 100 medical personnel. Here, he is pictured before surgery and 4 months after.

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The nation's first full face transplant patient, Dallas Wiens, poses for a photo after a news conference in Chicago on Dec. 4, 2013. Despite still visible facial scars from the March 2011 surgery, Wiens looks and sounds like a recovered man. Medical imaging shows new blood vessel networks have formed, connecting transplanted skin with the patients' facial tissue, a finding that may help improve future face transplant surgeries, doctors announced.

Keep clicking to see more images of these amazing procedures...

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In this Jan. 24, 2017, photo, face transplant recipient Andy Sandness attends a speech therapy appointment at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. 

The bottom half of Sandness' face was destroyed by a gunshot wound when he attempted suicide in 2006. He said he immediately regretted trying to kill himself and wanted to live. After years of reconstructive surgery, therapy and then a long wait for a donor, in 2016 he became the first patient to receive a face transplant at the Mayo Clinic.

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Andy Sandness, right, talks with his father, Reed Sandness, and Dr. Samir Mardini, left, in June 2016 before Andy's face transplant procedure at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Sandness' donor was a 21-year-old newlywed whose widow approved the use of his face for transplant.

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Andy Sandness, before and seven months after his 2016 face transplant operation at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

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Face transplant recipient Andy Sandness looks in a mirror during an appointment with physical therapist Helga Smars, right, at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., Jan. 24, 2017. 

Sandness wasn't allowed to see himself immediately after the surgery. His room mirror and cell phone were removed. When he finally did see his face after three weeks, he was overwhelmed. "Once you lose something that you've had forever, you know what it's like not to have it. ... And once you get a second chance to have it back, you never forget it." Just having a nose and mouth are blessings, Sandness says. "The looks are a bonus."

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Sixteen months after the transplant surgery, Andy Sandness met Lilly Ross, right, who donated the face he received following the death of her husband Calen "Rudy" Ross. 

"I wanted to show you that your gift will not be wasted," Sandness told Ross.

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In 2004, Connie Culp lost much of her face from a gunshot blast. Four years later, the 46-year-old mother was the first to undergo face transplant surgery in the U.S. This image shows Culp before the surgery (left) and in 2009, six months after the surgery.

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In this photo, Connie Culp, who underwent the first face transplant surgery in the U.S. in 2008, talks with the Associated Press at the Cleveland Clinic on Sept. 14, 2010.

Culp died died at age 57, almost a dozen years after the groundbreaking operation, from an unrelated infection in July 2020.

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Jerome Hamon became the first man in the world to undergo a second face transplant after medication incompatible with his anti-rejection treatment led to the first transplant to fail. 

He is seen here on April 13, 2018, about four months after his second transplant at the Hopital Europeen Georges-Pompidou in Paris.

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Dr. Laurent Lantieri of the Georges Pompidou hospital in Paris first transplanted a new face onto Jerome Hamon in 2010, when Hamon was in his mid-30s. But in November 2017, the tissue in his transplanted face began to die and Lantieri had to remove it.

In January 2018, when a second face donor for Hamon became available, Lantieri and his team performed a second face transplant. 

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This photo taken Nov. 11, 2015 shows the recuperation of Patrick Hardison three months after his facial transplant surgery at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York. Hardison, a former volunteer firefighter from Senatobia, Mississippi, was severely burned while fighting a fire in 2001. Doctors said his face transplant was the most extensive such procedure performed to date.

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Patrick Hardison before his facial transplant operation (left) and in November 2015, nearly three months after the surgery. Hardison was badly burned as a firefighter in 2001, leaving his entire face and scalp covered in skin grafts and scarring. In a 26-hour operation on Aug. 14-15, 2015, surgeons at NYU Langone Medical Center performed the most extensive face transplant to date.

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Dr. Eduardo D. Rodriguez displays an image from the successful completion of the most extensive face transplant to date at NYU Langone Medical Center on November 16, 2015 in New York City. On the screen are photos of the patient, Patrick Hardison, before he was injured fighting a fire in 2001 (left); after the fire left him severely disfigured (center); and three months after his face transplant surgery (right). The surgery took more than 24 hours.

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Images displayed by lead surgeon Dr. Eduardo D. Rodriguez show patient Patrick Hardison being prepared for his face transplant surgery (left) and after receiving the face transplant (right). The procedure, the most extensive facial transplant completed to date, involved transferring facial and scalp tissue from 26-year-old donor David Rodebaugh, who died following a biking accident.

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Here, Patrick Hardison speaks about his recovery a year after his face transplant. 

"Now I'm just the average guy walking down the street," Hardison said.

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Patrick Hardison said the surgery has been life-changing for him.

"People -- they can look at me and tell something's happened, but they would never look at me and think that I'd had a face transplant. ... Normal has become a reality over the year," Hardison said. "Normal was something I never thought I'd see again."

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In this picture publicly provided by the Cancer Center and Institute of Oncology in Gliwice, Poland, a 33-year-old Polish man whose face was torn off by stone-cutting machinery gives a thumbs-up gesture on May 21, 2013, six days after undergoing a total face transplant in Gliwice, Poland. Doctors at the Cancer Center and Institute of Oncology in Gliwice described the surgery at a news conference on Wednesday, saying it was the first time a life-saving face transplant was carried out soon after a recipient suffered damage. There have been several other transplants in recent years but in those cases doctors had months or years to prepare. The Polish patient suffered his accident on April 23, 2013.

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In this picture provided by the Cancer Center and Institute of Oncology in Gliwice, Poland, a 33-year-old Polish man whose face was torn off by stone-cutting machinery is shown after undergoing a total face transplant. Doctors performed the surgery on May 15 in a 27-hour operation. In a news conference on Wednesday they said it was the first time a life-saving face transplant was carried out soon after a recipient suffered damage. There have been several other transplants in recent years but in those cases doctors had months or years to prepare. The Polish patient suffered his accident on April 23, 2013.

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his computerized tomography provided by the Cancer Center and Institute of Oncology in Gliwice, Poland, shows the skull of a 33-year-old Polish man after it was damaged in a work accident (right) alongside the healthy skull of another person. Polish doctors performed a total face transplant on the man on May 15 in a 27-hour operation. In a news conference on May 22, 2013 they said it was the first time a life-saving face transplant was carried out soon after a recipient suffered damage. There have been several other transplants worldwide in recent years but in those cases doctors had months or years to prepare. The Polish patient suffered his accident on April 23, 2013.

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In this picture publicly provided by the Cancer Center and Institute of Oncology in Gliwice, Poland, a 33-year-old Polish man whose face was torn off by stone-cutting machinery is shown after undergoing a total face transplant. Doctors performed the surgery on May 15 in a 27-hour operation. In a news conference on May 22, 2013 they said it was the first time a life-saving face transplant was carried out soon after a recipient suffered damage. There have been several other transplants in recent years but in those cases doctors had months or years to prepare. The Polish patient suffered his accident on April 23, 2013.

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Carmen Blandin Tarleton, of Thetford, Vt,, speaks with reporters at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Mass., on May 1, 2013.

The 44-year-old mother of two underwent a face transplant in February after a 2007 attack in which her estranged husband doused her with industrial strength lye, burning more than 80 percent of her body.

Keep clicking to find out more about her story and other recent face transplant surgeries...

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Carmen Tarleton is interviewed in her home in Thetford, Vt., August 20, 2008.

The 44-year-old mother of two said May 1st that she's in a better place than she could have imagined after the attack. Tarleton says she's telling her story so others can find strength to escape their own pain.

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Carmen Blandin Tarleton, of Thetford, Vt,, is escorted by her surgeon Dr. Bohdan Pomahac while arriving for a news conference at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Mass., Wednesday, May 1, 2013.

Pomahac has lead previous face transplant surgeries at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

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Carmen Blandin Tarleton, of Thetford, Vt,, embraces her surgeon Dr. Bohdan Pomahac during a news conference at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Mass., Wednesday, May 1, 2013.

In 2007, the 44-year-old mother of two was attacked by her now ex-husband Herbert Rodgers, who believed she was seeing another man. Police say he went to the house looking for that man, then went into a fury directed toward Tarleton, striking her with a bat and pouring lye from a squeeze bottle onto her face.

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Carmen Blandin Tarleton of Thetford, Vermont, right, is embraced by Marinda Righter, daughter of Tarleton's face donor Cheryl Denelli-Righter, at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Mass., Wednesday, May 1, 2013.

Tarleton is legally blind and read her remarks from a tablet. She thanked Righter's family for what she called "a tremendous gift" that's greatly alleviated the physical pain she'd felt daily.

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Marinda Righter, daughter of face donor Cheryl Denelli-Righter, holds a photograph of her mother during a news conference at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Mass., Wednesday, May 1, 2013

"I get to feel my mother's skin again, I get to see my mother's freckles, and through you, I get to see my mother live on," Righter said. "This is truly a blessing."

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Dr. Bodhan Pomahac, at podium, with his surgical team, speaks to reporters regarding the face transplant of Carmen Blandin Tarleton, pictured left, at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Feb. 27, 2013. Tarleton underwent the surgery in early February. The 44-year-old Tarleton,of Thetford, Vt., was attacked by her former husband in 2007. He doused her with industrial strength lye. She suffered chemical burns over 80 percent of her body. The mother of two wrote a book about her experience that describes her recovery.

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This undated photograph provided by the Brigham and Women's Hospital on Feb. 27, 2013 shows face transplant patient Carmen Blandin Tarleton, right, with her sister Kesstan Blandin, before she was attacked.

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Carmen Blandin Tarleton before, after she was attacked by her ex-husband with industrial-strength lye, and after she received her face transplant.

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Cheryl Denelli Righter, who donated Carmen Blandin Tarleton's new face, passed away from a stroke in early February 2013.

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This February 2013 photograph provided by the Brigham and Women's Hospital shows their plastic surgery transplant team operating on Carmen Blandin Tarleton, of Thetford, Vt., at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Tarleton, 44, underwent face transplant surgery in early February.

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Dr. Eduardo D. Rodriguez, chief of plastic, reconstructive and maxillofacial surgery at the University of Maryland Medical Center, talks with reporters about the most extensive full face transplant completed to date performed on Richard Lee Norris, pictured at right, after a news conference on March 27, 2012 at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore.

Norris marks the 23rd face transplant since the procedure pioneered seven years ago. He received new teeth, tongue, upper and lower jaw and facial tissue from the scalp to the base of the neck in what's considered the most extensive full face transplant to date.

Now 114 days after surgery, doctors at the hospital say Norris has exceeded expectations in his recovery, and now eats primarily by mouth and can taste and smell .

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In photos provided by the University of Maryland Medical Center, face transplant recipient Richard Lee Norris, the recipient of the most extensive face transplant performed to date, is seen a photo taken before the face transplant, left, and in a photo made 114 days after the transplant was performed.

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Richard Lee Norris' prom picture, which was taken before a gun accident in 1997.

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A photograph of Richard Lee Norris after the accident. He lost his lips and nose, and has very limited movement of his mouth.

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A photograph of Richard Lee Norris after the face transplant procedure. The surgery took 36 hours and more than 150 medical staff members were involved.

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Dallas Wiens, a 25-year-old from Fort Worth, Texas, received a new face at BWH in March 2011, after his face was horribly burned by a high-voltage electrical line in 2008.

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Wiens after his accident, describing his injuries during an October 2010 interview.

"I do miss my sight," said Wiens, "But I miss the sensation of my face and my sense of smell the most."

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Dallas Wiens, before and after the full face transplant surgery performed in March 2011.

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Wiens at the one year anniversary of his face transplant.

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Wiens says he can now feel his daughter's kisses, which have brought him to tears on more than one occasion.

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Doctors say every time they see Wiens, he is able to feel and do more. Wiens himself says he can use his face more than he expected.

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Charla Nash revealed her new face for the first time on Thursday, August 11, 2011, after undergoing a face transplant surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston in May. Nash is the third American to receive a full face transplant. She also received a double hand transplant, but the hands failed to thrive and were removed.

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Nash lost her face and hands in a brutal attack by a friend's 200-pound pet chimpanzee in 2009. For her transplant surgery, the 30-member surgical team worked for more than 20 hours to replace Nash's face.

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Nash with Travis the chimp prior to the attack. The chimp ripped off Nash's hands, nose, lips and eyelids, blinding her before being shot and killed by police.

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Dr. Edward J. Caterson, left, and Dr. Dzifa Kpodzo, right, both of Brigham and Women's Hospital Plastic Surgery, with other members of the face transplant surgical team.

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Mitch Hunter's face was horribly disfigured in a 2001 car accident. A decade later, the 30-year-old Indiana man underwent the nation's second full-face transplant at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Here he is with his new face.

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Before the transplant, Hunter underwent reconstructive surgery and wore a prosthetic nose.

The injury to his face occurred after he came into contact with a high-voltage electrical wire following his car accident.

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After being mauled by a bear, Li Guoxing became China's first face transplant patient in 2006. Doctors at the Xijing military hospital in Xi'an replaced his cheek, upper lip, and nose. Li died in December 2008.

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Isabelle Dinoire received the world's first partial face transplant in November 2005 (shown here three months later). Doctors in northern France attached a new nose, chin and lips after her horrifying attack from her own dog.

Dinoire died in 2016 after suffering a number of serious health issues, including cancer.

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Transformation of Isabelle Dinoire.

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Known only as Oscar, this Spanish farmer lost most of his face in a 2005 accidental shotgun blast. Oscar (shown here at a 2010 news conference), received the world's first full face transplant in March 2010, carried out by a 30-person team. Doctors said that after 18 months of physical therapy, he is expected to regain up to 90 percent of his facial functions.

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To replace Oscar's face, doctors in Barcelona lifted an entire face, including the jaw, nose, cheekbones, muscles, teeth and eyelids, and placed it mask-like onto Oscar.

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Connie Culp in an undated photo sometime before the 2004 gunshot blast destroyed her face.

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Dr. Bohdan Pomahac, a plastic surgeon at Brigham and Women's Hospital, has led the surgical team that has performed all of the nation's full face transplants. Here he stands with three recipients - Mitch Hunter, Jim Maki, and Dallas Wiens. Dr. Pomahac led Nash's recent face transplant procedure.