RML doctors construct nose of 22-year-old man with one nostril

NEW DELHI: Doctors at Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) hospital reconstructed the nose of a 22-year-old man who was born with half a nose, a rare birth defect known as arhinia.

NEW DELHI: Doctors at Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) hospital reconstructed the nose of a 22-year-old man who was born with half a nose, a rare birth defect known as arhinia.

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Just about 100 cases of arhinia have been reported in medical literature across the world.

“Arhinia or the absence of a nose is a very rare condition. He was born with half a nose and only one nostril, a condition called hemiarhinia, which is rarer still,” said Dr Sam eek B hat ta char ya, the surgeon who performed there constructive surgery.

Mausam, 22, who was born in Motihari, Bihar, was taken to several private practitioners to find a cure.

“Most clinics could not provide treatment and the ones that did was costly. We owned a small piece of land and did not earn much. I wanted to have two kids, so it was important for me that my firstborns on looked normal ,” said Mausam’s mother, Rekha Jha.

The family sold their land and moved to Delhi for his treatment when he was four. His father started earning by loading goods on truck. As a young boy, he was scared of getting scan sand doctors could not plan a surgery without it.

“After taking him to several hospitals, including AIIMS, I gave up. In the meantime, I gave birth to two girls and a boy. He started noticing that his siblings looked different. After that he stopped going out,” said Rekha.

The 22-year-old has been living with social anxiety. “I do not go to any social events because people either stare at me or make fun of me. Nobody respects me so I cannot even keep a job. This time, I will go back home only after I look normal. Then, I will get a job which will let me travel,” said Mausam.

For the reconstructive surgery, the doctors had to create half a nose using tissues from his forehead and the inside lining of the nose using skin from the right cheek. They created a septum from cartilage taken from his right ear to hold his nose upright.