A French woman who underwent the first partial face transplant in the world, has died, the University Hospital of Amiens in France has confirmed.

Isabelle Dinoire, 49, who had the transplant surgery in 2005 after being mauled by a dog, died on April 22, but it was only revealed on Tuesday.

The woman died following a long illness, the hospital said in a statement, confirming the news revealed by newspaper Le Figaro.

The hospital added that it did not report the news before to preserve the privacy of the family.

The Le Figaro newspaper reported that Ms Dinoire suffered a new episode of rejection of the transplanted area last year “and she had lost part of the use of her lips”.

The drugs that she had to take to prevent her body from rejecting the transplant left her susceptible to cancer, and two cancers had developed, the report said.

‘I have a face, like everyone’

In a courageous interview three months after the operation in February 2006, Ms Dinoire told of her traumatic accident.

She said she had fainted after “taking medicines to forget” personal issues.

“When I woke up, I tried to light a cigarette and I couldn’t understand why it didn’t stay between my lips. Then I saw the pool of blood and the dog next to me,” she recounted.

“I went to look in the mirror and was horrified.”

But the ground-breaking operation gave her a new lease on life.

“Since my operation I have a face, like everyone … I will be able to resume a normal life,” she said.

Ms Dinoire said she was happy with the transplant surgery but expressed distress at the attention from the media and passers-by that the operation brought her.

— with AAP