Warsaw, Jan 17 (IANS): Poland's first-ever face transplant has been recognised as the world's best example of reconstructive surgery of 2013 at a recent annual meeting of the American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery (ASRM) in Hawaii, media reported Thursday.

The surgery was carried out in May 2013 at the Institute of Oncology in Gliwice of southern Poland by a team headed by Prof Adam Maciejewski, Xinhua reported.

A 33-year-old patient had had his face virtually ripped off during an accident while he was operating a machine that cuts stones. The accident had left him with no chance of survival without the operation.

The ASRM is an organisation of around 500 specialists in the field from around the world and Maciejewski is a Polish member.

The patient who underwent the transplant is recovering well, media reported, citing the doctors in Gliwice.

Maciejewski's team carried out a second successful face transplant in December 2013 on a 26-year-old woman suffering from a rare tumour disorder.