Connie Culp, who received the first face transplant in the US, has died aged 57

Connie Culp - the woman who became the very first recipient of a face transplant in the US - has passed away at the age of 57.

Per the New York Post, Culp, from Ohio, died on Thursday. Her cause of death is yet to be revealed.

The sad news was confirmed by the Cleveland Clinic’s Dermatology and Plastic Surgery Institute, where she underwent her groundbreaking surgical procedure.

Dr. Frank Papay, chair of the clinic's Dermatology and Plastic Surgery Institute, said in a statement:

"Connie was an incredibly brave, vibrant woman, and an inspiration to many.

"Her strength was evident in the fact that she had been the longest-living face transplant patient to date. She was a great pioneer and her decision to undergo a sometimes-daunting procedure is an enduring gift for all of humanity.

"She was a great pioneer and her decision to undergo a sometimes-daunting procedure is an enduring gift for all of humanity."

Connie received a new face from a dead woman back in 2008 after her then-husband, Thomas Culp, shot her in the face before turning the gun on himself in an attempted murder-suicide four years prior.

Remarkably, both Connie and Thomas survived the shots.

Thomas was sentenced to seven years in prison, however, the shotgun blast destroyed Connie's nose, cheeks, the roof of her mouth, and an eye - forcing her to undergo 30 operations in a bid to remove hundreds of shotgun pellets and bone splinters from her face.

Surgeons at the clinic then reconstructed 80% of Connie's face using the bone, muscles, nerves, skin, and blood vessels from a dead woman, in a 22-hour procedure that is estimated to have cost up to $400,000.

Per news.com.au, most of that cost was absorbed by the clinic due to the fact that the surgery was experimental.

And in 2010, ABC News reported that Connie had undergone her final facial procedure, that allowed her to walk down the street and smile.

In a previous interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC World News, Connie said that a little girl had called her a "monster" after seeing her face. However, following her final procedure, Culp revealed: "Nobody pays any attention to me. Just another person on the street."

Following a lengthy recovery, Culp went on to become an advocate against domestic-violence, telling The Plain Dealer in a 2019 interview: "I’ve met probably ten women that actually had a gun pointed at them.

"The only difference is the gun wasn’t loaded. I say, 'The next time it might be.' I never thought that he would do that to me. And look where I am. I’m just lucky that somebody was able to fix me."

Our thoughts are with Connie's family and friends at this time...