The second American face transplant patient spoke for the first time last night about his life before the operation – a bleak hermit-like existence in which he felt confined to home because children would recoil in fear at his disfigurement.

James Maki, 59, suffered horrendous facial injuries when he fell onto the electrified third rail at a Boston train station in 2005. Yesterday he ventured into the public gaze with an entirely new face.

"I tried not to go out too often," he said. "I didn't like the way people would react to me."

He explained that he never had any doubts about the risky operation. "My life up to that point was a mess. I knew if I had the surgery I'd have a chance for a normal life again."

Mr Maki underwent a 17-hour operation on April 9 and remains in hospital recovering from the surgery. He lost his nose, upper lip, cheeks and the roof of his mouth in the accident.

He opted for surgery after seeing Dr Bohdan Pomahac talking about face transplants on television.

The surgeon led the team which carried out the procedure last month. It followed the discovery of a suitable donor, Joseph Helfgot, who died after a heart transplant. The men were about the same age and with similar skin tone.

Mr Maki said he was delighted to see his new face for the first time. It took four days until he was allowed a mirror to see the results of the operation. “I just wanted to see what the new Jim looked like,” he told the Boston Globe. And he was immediately pleased with the results.

“I can’t believe you made me look so close to what I used to look like,” he recalled telling Dr Pomahac. "I'm happy."

Mr Maki said his daughter, who just graduated from college, cried with joy when she first saw her father. He is scheduled to go home in about a week and would like to finish his degree and work with fellow Vietnam veterans.

The hospital did not charge Mr Maki for the operation, which cost about $200,000. The doctors donated their time.

Two weeks ago, Connie Culp, 46, was revealed as America's first face transplant recipient. She lost her nose, palate and lower eyelids when her husband fired a shotgun in her face in 2004.

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