Charla Nash Reveals New Face in TV Interview

Stamford resident Charla Nash, who gained national attention after she was severely mauled by a friend's pet chimpanzee in 2009, showed her new face on video for the first time last night during a televised interview with Channel 5/Peacock Productions.

It was reportedly Nash’s first television interview since her successful face transplant, conducted in May by doctors at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Nash is reportedly recovering at a rehabilitation center just outside Boston.

Nash lost a hand, both eyes, and most of her face in the horrifying attack. The chimp, which belonged to Nash’s friend Sandra Herold, was shot and killed by police when the attack took place.

Nash is reportedly the third person in the United States to receive a complete face transplant.

A hand transplant was unsuccessful, but Nash said in the interview she is hopeful it can be done in the future.

Herold died of a heart attack in May 2010, however Nash has reportedly filed a lawsuit against her estate, which is still pending.

Nash’s recovery from the surgery is expected to take years, according to the televised interview, snippets of which can be viewed on YouTube. Nash revealed her face prior to the surgery on the Oprah Winfrey show.

Nash revealed her face following the transplant in August — but only in photographs.

Earlier this year Congress passed the , which aims to eliminate the interstate sale of monkeys, apes and other non-human primates in the exotic pet trade. The bill was first introduced in 2007, but the Senate never took it up. It was resurrected in 2009, following the Nash attack, and was backed by several U.S. Senators including Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal.