Cancer of the mouth and face affects our swallowing, our speech and more importantly our self-perception and self-esteem. Therefore, reconstructive surgery of the mouth and face touches on the deepest human feelings about identity. The surgery offers the promise of allowing patients to eat, drink and communicate again through the wide variety of facial expressions and mannerisms that most people take for granted. In a ten-hour procedure, the patient’s cancer will be removed, and a new facial “flap” will be attached to the recipient’s blood vessels and nerves. The tissues are matched for colour and type and function. In the procedure the patient’s compliance and contribution to recovery is as important as the surgery itself.