Dallan Jennet, a 14-year-old boy from the Marshall Islands, has become the first patient in the US to undergo a successful nose transplant using 3D printing technology. His face was disfigured after he fell on a live power line and had undergone multiple surgeries.
Reconstructive surgery on the human nose isn’t uncommon. But until now, doctors were not able to replicate and restore the body part to its full functionality.
“The procedure is akin to a ‘nose transplant’ in that we were able to replace the nose with a functional implant,” lead physician Tal Dagan, associate adjunct surgeon, said in a Mount Sinai blog post. “This procedure may be a breakthrough in facial reconstruction because the patient will never have to deal with the standard issues of transplantation, such as tissue rejection or a lifetime of immuno-suppressive therapies.”
Jennet’s first procedure, in early 2015, took place in the Marshall Islands, where doctors input expanders under the remaining skin of his nose to make room for the reconstructed body part. Benicia, a California-based nonprofit, funded Jennet and his mother’s travel and medical expenses to New York.