FUZHOU, China — A Chinese man has successfully grown a new nose in an unlikely place to replace his original.
Xiaolian, a 22-year-old man, successfully has grown a new nose on his forehead with the help of doctors from a hospital in Fuzhou City, east China’s Fujian Province, the New York Daily News reported.
In August 2012, Xiaolian was involved in a car accident that caused severe nasal trauma to his nose. The injury went untreated and an infection corroded his nasal cartilage, which left surgeons unable to repair or reconstruct it.
Doctors decided to construct and "grow" a new nose using Xiaolian's forehead, a practice never before performed. Doctors used a tissue expander on the man's forehead and took cartilage from his ribs to shape a new nose.
The new nose is in good condition and will be ready for transplant on Xiaolian's face soon, the New York Daily News reported.
This is not the first time a nose has been grown on a patient's body to replace the original.
Last year, The Daily Mail reported, scientists at University College London began to grow a nose on a 53-year-old man who lost his to cancer. The new nose will not only give the man sense of smell again, but will look just like the original did — "slightly crooked," the article said.
The new nose was first constructed using a glass mold of the man's nose. The mold was then sprayed with a honeycomb-like substance that would allow new cells to attach.
Once finished, the glass mold was then removed, and the frame made from the honeycomb-like material was sprayed with millions of stem cells, which are designed to form cartilage with the help of chemicals.
During this time, a small balloon was placed under the man's arm to help the skin stretch to accommodate the new nose.
The new nose was placed in the arm in January to acquire nerves and tiny blood vessels as well as skin.
After about four months, the nose was surgically implanted to the man's face. The nose did not initially have nostrils due to the skin covering. It was removed to create nostrils after the initial surgery healed. Mucous membrane cells from the patient were then implanted into the nasal cavity, which allowed the man to regain his smell.
Editor's Note: The original version of this story posted on Sept. 25, 2013, failed to properly attribute all source materials, which violates our editorial policies. The story was revised on Oct. 10, 2013, to link to original source material.
Email: crenouard@deseretnews.com