Successful Transplantation After Culturing Nose and Forearm Grown Using 3D Printer

French Toulouse University Hospital Transplants Cultured Tissue from Arm to Face After 2 Months for 50-Year-Old Woman Who Lost Nose Due to Nasal Cancer, Completing Vascular Reconstruction

A cultivated view after transplanting an 'artificial nose' made with a 3D printer onto the patient's forearm. Photo by Toulouse University Hospital website capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] A surgery that implanted a nose made with a 3D printer under the arm to grow it and then detached and attached it to the face was successfully performed.

Recently, foreign media reported that Toulouse University Hospital in France performed this surgery for the first time in the world on a 50-year-old female patient suffering from nasal cancer. This woman was diagnosed with nasal cancer (squamous cell carcinoma) in 2013 and underwent radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Due to the treatment, she lost much of her nose and the front part of her palate. Having lived without a nose for over four years, she attempted nasal reconstruction through skin flap surgery but failed, and also had difficulties wearing a silicone facial prosthesis.

Accordingly, the medical team at Toulouse University Hospital proposed nasal reconstruction using a 3D printer for this patient. The material used to make the nose was hydroxyapatite, a synthetic porous substance. The shape of the patient's nose was created based on photos taken before the cancer treatment, replicating her original nose. The 3D-printed nose was first implanted into the patient’s forearm and then cultured. Fortunately, two months later in September, the nose grew well enough to be transplanted onto the face, and subsequently, microvascular surgery successfully reconstructed the blood vessels. To restore the forearm area where the nose was detached, skin was grafted from the thigh. After a 10-day hospitalization and three weeks of antibiotic treatment, the patient is now living healthily with her new nose, breathing more comfortably.

In an interview with French media, the patient said, "I was confined at home for the past eight years after losing my nose," and added, "Now I can smell the garden and return to life. This is a miracle." She continued, "The nose transplant was my last option," and expressed her respect for the research and work of the medical staff who helped her endure. Although she will need further surgeries for nose shape correction and dental reconstruction, she is gaining strength with the support of her husband and son and her strong will.

The Toulouse University Hospital, which performed the surgery, stated, "This type of reconstruction had never been performed on such a weak area with poorly developed blood vessels," and added, "Thanks to the collaboration with a Belgian medical device manufacturer specializing in bone reconstruction and the medical staff, we were able to overcome the limitations."

Meanwhile, an American facial plastic surgeon commented on this surgery, saying, "There have been surgeries where other body parts were grown on the patient’s body and then transplanted, but the nose is so three-dimensional that it is difficult to make it in this way," expressing amazement.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.