After losing her nose to cancer in 2013, a French woman, 50, was able tom grow a new one on her arm, thanks to a groundbreaking procedure. The patient, identified only as Cecile, has a chunk of her original nose removed eight years ago as part of a life-saving treatment for sinus cancer. She had since found it difficult to leave her home due to being overly self-conscious of her nose. She also lost the ability to smell.
Discover our latest podcast
Nose on arm
Before the commencement of her cancer treatment, doctors at the Toulouse hospital created a custom-made nose using 3D technology. They preserved it in ice waiting for advanced technology that would make it possible to grow it back. That opportunity came this year and doctors managed to implant the preserved nose under the skin on her forearm. After two months, the new nose was transplanted on her face. The woman, who is now 50, told 20 Minutes, she was happy with the results.
I can go out, I come back to life. It's miraculous, this biomaterial was my last resort and I salute the research and the work of the doctors who helped me to hold on. I stayed shut inside my home for these past eight years.
Groundbreaking
The tailor-made intervention was carried out by the ear, nose and throat and cervico-facial surgery teams from the Toulouse University Hospital, and the Claudius Regaud Institute, and took place at the Toulouse-Oncopole University Cancer Institute. According to officials of the facility:
This type of reconstruction had never before been performed on such a fragile and poorly vascularised area…This new technique also makes it possible to overcome certain limitations presented by other techniques.
The Mirror recalled that in May this year, a British man had a new penis transplanted onto his genital region, after growing it on his forearm.
Sources used:
The Mirror: Woman, 50, grows 'miraculous' new nose on her arm after losing old one to cancer
New York Post: Real nose grown on woman’s arm was transplanted to her face
Evening Standard: Woman in France has nose grown on her arm from 3D-printed biomaterial then grafted onto her face
