dr. eduardo rodriguez took over the renowned plastic surgery program at nyu langone medical center in newas just a student, he went to see a movie. watching john travolta trade his face for nicholas cage's in the 1997 sci-fi crime drama "face off." >> so you want to take his face and mine -- >> borrow. >> reporter: rodriguez had no idea he was seeing a kind of preview of his own career. >> as a matter of fact i thought, "that's impossible." no one thinks of that movie as real or even happening in the near future. i never thought about that. >> reporter: if face transplants were long shots back then, you might say rodriguez was too. in fact, when he first applied to medical school from his hometown of miami he didn't get in. >> i was not gonna give up. i had to do something to take care of patients. >> reporter: so he initially went to dental school and eventually landed at the prestigious jo baltimore. in an amazing coincidence, dr. rodriguez just happened to be there in 2000, as abc news cameras captured a remarkable moment, a plastic surgery resident quitting on camera. >> her colleague

dr. eduardo rodriguez would lead the facial transplant team.dr.urgeon "cameron is the third face transplant that i've performed. and when i look at his result, it's far exceeded all of my expectations."much of the presurgical planning was guided by state of the art technology.including 3d imaging and intra-operative cat scans that ensured bones, implantable plates and screws to anchor the face were all aligned perfectly .ten days post-op, cameron saw his new face for the first time. natsot/rodriguez"what do you think is most impressive for your right now while you're looking and staring?"at a press conference today cameron thanked his doctors, and had en emotional message for his donor.cameron underwood/trans plant recipient"i want shelly and her family to know how much my family and i appreciate their gift and i will always honor will's legacy."the donor was manhattan resident 23 year old william fisher.he had actually registered as an organ donor prior to his tragic death. cameron still has a way to go, but has made remarkable progress.dr. eduar