There haven't been a great number of face transplant patients, since up until just a few years ago this was considered a surgery straight out of science fiction films like "Face/Off" - now that it's a real possibility, the United States military watches closely as it could potentially mean saved lives.

Charla Nash is possibly the most famous face transplant patient, as she underwent the procedure in 2011 after being completely disfigured by a rabid chimpanzee during the attack - and now, it seems that the US government is overseeing every step of her recovery in the hope to make things better for their own soldiers.

According to CBS News, Nash's case could potentially inspire other face transplant patients, as the Pentagon has been monitoring her recovery to see whether this will be a viable surgery later on; the US government (in particular, the military) is even paying for the entirety of Nash's treatment.

The Washington Post reports that, worldwide, there have only been about 35 face transplant patients, as this is still cutting edge technology: those who go through this surgery have the entirety of their facial bones, muscles, blood vessels and skin replaced with that of a deceased donor.

The New York Daily News reports that now, nearly four years after Nash's surgery, the most-watched of face transplant patients will go through another medical challenge: for the first time, she'll be taken off the medication that kept her body from rejecting the new face.

Nash will be taking part in the experiment, funded by the US military, that will allow doctors in Boston (particularly in the Brigham and Women's Hospital) to slowly take her off the anti-rejection drugs she's been receiving since the 2011 surgery.

At the time of her face transplant, she also underwent hand transplant, but her body ultimately rejected the tissue.

Nash's entire treatment is reportedly costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, but as the technology advances, it could mean that face transplant patients' care (and the surgery itself) could ultimately be regulated like other procedures.