A 17-year-old girl from southeast China’s Fujian Province has received a face transplant that was grown on her chest.
Xu Jianmei, a resident of a small fishing village, was severely disfigured in a fire that occurred when she was five years old. She lost her chin, eyelids, and a large part of her right ear.
She was not able to receive treatment during the optimal treatment time, as her family could not afford it.
But last year, the chance to get a new face came to her after doctors boldly proposed growing a new face on her chest using tissue grafted from her leg.
A Chinese transplant team in Fujian province built her new face using a blood vessel from her leg and a water-filled balloon to expand her skin.
It then took several months to grow the skin until it was large enough to cover her missing facial features.