ABC News "Charla Nash Gets Face Transplant After Chimp Attack"

By Katie Moisse

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Charla Nash, the Connecticut woman whose face was horribly mauled by her friend's pet chimpanzee, has undergone grueling surgery to give her a new face.

After the 20-hour surgical marathon by a team of more than 30 doctors and nurses, Nash's new face looks "perfect," her brother Steve said.

An attempt to give her a pair of new hands failed, and the transplanted hands were removed.

Steve Nash choked up during a press conference today while thanking the donor's family.

"Your incredible gift to Charla is generous and kind beyond words," he said. "Thank you for your precious gift and God bless you."

Nash, 57, was helping her friendSandra Herold lure her pet chimp Travis inside when the 200 pound animal ripped off her nose, lips, eyelids and hands before being shot and killed by police.

Since the 2009 attack, Nash wore a straw hat with a veil to cover her injuries, but revealed her mangled face on a November 2009 episode of "Oprah."

"Charla didn't attend her daughter Brianna's high school graduation because she thought her presence would take away from the day," said Dr. Bohdan Pomahac, director of plastic surgery transplantation at Brigham and Woman's Hospital in Boston. "I think her new face will allow Charla to be present when Brianna graduates from college in a few years."