Mumbai: Four years ago, Ganga Bishan watched in horror as his 10-day-old daughter's nose first disintegrated and then disappeared, leaving a gaping open wound in its place. She was diagnosed with necrosis, commonly known as a flesh-eating disease - a rare condition in which bacteria destroy tissues underlying the skin.
However, thanks to a rare surgery performed at Bombay Hospital on Tuesday, Deepika Bishan, now a bright four-year-old, has got a brand new nose. What makes her surgery unique is the fact that craniofacial and reconstructive plastic surgeon Dr Nitin Mokal implanted a tissue-expander under the skin on her forehead and later transferred it on to her nose. In layman's terms, the tissue was actually regenerated.
Deepika is the youngest patient reported in medical history to have undergone this procedure. "Her nose needed total reconstruction but her age was a problem, as she couldnt endure the painful surgery," said Mokal.
The surgery was performed in two stages. In the first stage a silicon balloon, known as tissue expander was placed under the skin of her forehead, covering the area from her hairline to her eyebrows, in an hour-long procedure. The tissue-expander has a port, through which saline is injected twice a week for six weeks.
"This is most painful because the skin begins expanding which results in a lot of discomfort. Once the skin and the tissue is ready, it is then transferred on the nose to serve as a nose cover," said Mokal.
Also, the bone for Deepika's nose was harvested from her rib cage. "Her stitches will be removed on Tuesday. She will then need a 10-minute procedure, where her nose-bridge will be reconstructed," he added.
Deepika's surgery cost a whopping Rs 3 lakh and was sponsored by the Madhya Pradesh government. "Deepika has now not only got a new nose but also a new lease of life," said her father Bishan.
