Chinese Man Draws Worldwide Attention after Growing a Nose on Forehead

The 22-year-old Xiaolian damaged his nose in a traffic accident in August 2012. He did not get immediate reconstructive nose surgery because he could not afford it. It then led the nose to get infected and deformed. 

Often we find some rather out of this world news that we find ourselves asking if these are real or not. But when a man grew a nose on his forehead in China, this has caused widespread media attention. But he is not some freak of nature but rather is someone who has quite the misfortune.

Doctors were not able to save his nose despite their efforts. But a surgeon named Guo Zuihui came to the rescue when he fashioned a new nose for him using a skin tissue expander and the man's own cartilage.

The surgeon spent nine months cultivating the graft. Today it sticks out of the man's forehead as it is implanted under the skin.

The first move was to expand the skin on the man's forehead for more than three months before they used rib cartilage to fashion a nose bridge. Then later formed the nostrils afterwards. The nose was formed on a three-dimensional scale to ensure that it fits the overall structure of the face.

But what is confounding man is how awkward the structure is positioned with the nostrils facing upward in a diagonal position on the left upper side of the head. But it is also quite impressive that it actually looks like the real deal.

Guo's next move on the nose is to cut it from the forehead while leaving a section of the skin still connected. He will then rotate the grafted nose into position in another operation in the future.

Using cartilage to repair or rebuild noses is not a new practice. However, placing it in the forehead as a technique for proper future placement is a pioneering approach. According to Professor Alexander Seifalian, a professor of nanotechnology and regenrative medicine at University College London, implanting a nose graft on the forehead actually makes sense because the skin in this areas have the same texture and structure to that of the nose.

Today, experts are even growing new noses from stem cells on other parts of the body, like the forearm.But it was not clear why Guo's team chose to build the nose on the forehead instead of the proper position. Expectedly, a nose graft that is grown from stem cells wll be placed on another body part first. But with the operation the Chinese did, they already used existing cartilage.

Prof. Seifalian said, “ They could have made the nose and just put it on the nasal instead, not the forehead.” However, he also noted that he has not gone through any scientific information on the said information, and was simply going by media reports.

But Guo also said that after examining what remained of the nose they concluded that there is little chance that a graft can grow viable in the original position. That is why they decided to position it on the forehead. Once the nose is rotated into position and then grafted, it will receive it will be replenised with blood supply coming from the forehead before the structure develops new blood vessels. Another surgery will be needed to improve the nasal skin by smoothing it.

Please the video below.