(ABC 6 News) — Mayo Clinic announced on Monday that in February, a team performed a successful face transplant on a Michigan man.

According to a press release from the clinic, Derek Pfaff’s life changed forever on March 5, 2014, when a tragic incident during his college years left his face severely damaged by a gunshot. 

“I was under a lot of pressure at college. I don’t remember making the decision to take my own life. When I woke up in the hospital, I originally thought I had been in a car accident,” he says. 

Surgeons performed Pfaff’s face transplant in a procedure that lasted more than 50 hours and involved a medical team comprised of at least 80 healthcare professionals, including surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, technicians, assistants and other specialists. 

This multidisciplinary team was led by Samir Mardini, M.D., a facial reconstructive and facial reanimation surgeon and surgical director of Mayo Clinic’s Reconstructive Transplant Program. Dr. Mardini estimates that 85% of Pfaff’s face, including the mandible and maxilla, was reconstructed and replaced with donor tissue.  

“Most organ transplants are lifesaving. With facial transplantation, it’s a life-giving operation. You can live without it, but you are missing out on life,” Dr. Mardini says.

“This surgery has transformed my life,” said Pfaff. “I feel so much more confident. I am hoping to one day meet someone, settle down and have a family,” he says. “I’m also going to keep sharing my story with others to help as many people as I can.”