Doctors Grow Nose On Man’s Forehead

By Tia Ghose, A man in China whose nose
was damaged in an accident is growing a
replacement nose on his forehead.
After a Chinese man’s nose was irreparably
damaged from infection, his doctors
decided to “grow” a second nose on the
man’s forehead to replace the original
nose.
The patient, identified only as Xiaolian
according to Reuters, has his nose
damaged from an infection following a car
accident. His doctors decided the only way
to reconstruct his nose was to surgically
form a new one on the 22-year-old’s
forehead.
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Tissue expanders were placed under the
skin and then cut to resemble a nose.
According to local media, doctors expect to
implant the new nose soon.
Dr. Patrick Byrne, the director of Facial,
Plastic and Reconstruction Surgery at Johns
Hopkins Medical Center, said forehead skin
is used to help reform noses because it is
the closest match to skin on the nose.
However, usually the nose is reformed
during surgery instead of on a patient’s
forehead.
“My guess would be that they felt that the
tissue in the nose was so damaged they
had to use the forehead skin on the
interior part of the nose,” said Byrne. “It’ll
be a real nose and [have a] breathing
passage way.”
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When the nose is transplanted, cartilage
from Xiaolian’s rib will be used to give the
nose added structure.
Byrne said Xiaolian’s new nose will be most
vulnerable during the 18 months after his
transplant.
“There’s a lot that can happen,” said Byrne.
“If he gets a little infection the cartilage can
disintegrate… [what looked like a nose]
now looks like a blob.”
However Byrne said as long as Xiaolian is
able to avoid complications, his new nose
should work nearly as well as his original
nose.
“He should be able to smell, the smell
receptors are pretty high in the nose,” said
Bryne.
In the future Byrne imagines that doctors
will be able to grow entire ears and noses
in the lab before transplant.

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