A new nose has been grown on the forehead of a man in China.
The man will receive a nose transplant with the nose grown on his own forehead, after his own nose suffered severe nasal trauma following a car accident last year.
The 22-year-old man, nicknamed "Xiaolian" was severely injured in the accident that took place in August 2012, but only opted to receive basic medical treatment rather than plastic surgery for his injuries.
However, his decision to opt out on plastic surgery did not fare well, as he developed an infection, prompting his nasal cartilage to corrode away.
Nasal reconstruction was not an option at that point, and somehow the surgeons came up with an idea to grow a nose on his forehead. This is the first ever case of its kind and doctors around the world have never tried it before.
The nose was grown by placing a skin tissue expander on the patient's forehead and cutting it into the shape of a nose. They used cartilage taken from his ribs.
The nose has been growing for nine months and surgeons say that it is now ready to be transplanted onto his nasal spot.
"We have gone through the hardest step and now it is not difficult to carry out transplant surgery," said
Guo Zhihui, Director of Plastic Surgery Department of Xiehe Hospital affiliated with Fujian Medical University said, "We have gone through the hardest step and now it is not difficult to carry out transplant surgery."
Xiaolian is expected to return to normal life after the transplant surgery is completed.
