LYON, France — The woman who received a new nose, chin and lips in groundbreaking surgery last month had a warm chat with the man who was the world's first double- hand transplant patient, a psychiatrist who has treated both of them said Friday.

Denis Chatelier, the Frenchman who received new hands in a January 2000 operation, offered the woman encouragement at a meeting held discreetly Thursday to avoid media scrutiny, Dr. Daniele Bachmann said. Because of privacy laws, the woman can be identified only as Isabelle.

In revealing last week that he had accepted a request from Isabelle for a meeting, Chatelier told The Associated Press that he needed two years to adjust to his transplant enough to be able to say "my hands" instead of "the hands."

Bachmann said, however, that Isabelle has adapted more quickly since undergoing the world's first partial face transplant Nov. 27. She said the 38-year-old woman is "very happy" with her new features, and already has some feeling and some facial movement.

Bachmann, who has treated between 40 and 50 transplant patients in her career, said it is natural to assume it would be harder to accept a new face than new hands, because facial features are so wrapped up in one's identity. But that was not so in this case, she said.

Isabelle retained her bone structure, her own tongue and her eyes, allowing her to feel familiarity despite the new additions. She could only see the transplanted features when looking at a mirror. Chatelier, in contest, could see his new hands constantly.