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A British businessman who lost his nose to cancer is
growing a new one – in his arm.
If all goes well it will eventually be removed and sewn on to his face,
with experts at University College London hoping he will have feeling
and a sense of smell.
The new nose, the first in the world to be grown from scratch, will also
look just like the 56-year-old man’s old one – slightly crooked.
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The new nose began as a glass mould, based on the original, which was
sprayed with a synthetic honeycomb-like material to create a framework
for stem cells to cling to.
The mould was then removed and the honey- comb covered with millions of
these ‘blank cells’ which, with the right nutrients, can turn into the
cartilage of the nose – a process which took place at UCL in a rotating
jar called a bioreactor.
Meanwhile, the skin on the man’s arm was gradually stretched by a small
balloon placed under the surface and inflated until it was loose enough
to accommodate the nose.
Around two months ago, when the framework was ready, it replaced the
balloon under the stretched skin.
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The new nose is now bulging out of the man’s arm, where it is acquiring
networks of nerves and tiny blood vessels, as well as a covering of skin
from the arm. As Professor Seifalian told BBC Focus magazine: ‘We can
make the nose but we can’t make the skin.’
After at least three months there, the nose will be removed and sewn in
place on the man’s face in an operation that should not leave any scars.
The arm should return to normal, with the skin stitched back together.
The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, had his nose removed after skin
cancer started to eat it away. Treatment to stop the tumour returning
compounded the damage, and psychological scars left him virtually
housebound.
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Similar patients, car crash victims and wounded soldiers could all be
helped if the operation is a success.
The landmark project has echoes of a US attempt in the 1990s to grow
ears on a mouse for transplant. That failed, but there have been many
advances in science since.
Professor Seifalian, who hopes eventually to grow a whole face in the
lab, said: ‘We have got all our fingers crossed until they are
breaking.’ |