Tessa Evans suffers from Arnia disease , an extremely rare birth defect . Her parents, Nathan and Garinne Evans, discovered her condition during pregnancy and began a struggle to ensure their future daughter had a fulfilling life life.
The challenge is innovative and will prevent the little girl from suffering facial scarring from traditional reconstruction . The road will not be easy, and doctors will use a model of the girl’s skull, which will also be made with a 3D printer.
“The nose won’t have its natural function as an airway, but it will at least have a good cosmetic effect,” explains Dr. Brito. “With the new method, we will achieve tissue expansion after placing new implants at each growth age . The nostrils will not be real, but tattooed, but the appearance will be that of a normal nose ,” he explained.
The expert explained to the Spanish newspaper that, unlike other methods used so far , the implants are inserted under the skin through an incision in the scalp and therefore do not leave scars on the face. When a larger implant needs to be replaced, the incision is opened as if it were an envelope , and so on, until reaching the final nose prosthesis the girl will have at puberty.
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As a newborn, Tessa was intubated for five weeks and had a tracheostomy that allowed her to breathe without difficulty. “The doctors had to stabilize her so she could breathe on her own, and that’s when they allowed me to hold her for the first time,” the mother recalled. Over time, the little girl learns to breathe through her mouth.
“In this way we will be able to avoid the most negative effects. This is a very exciting option, considering that girls will be able to benefit in the next decade from all the technological advances generated by 3D printers which are revolutionizing field of prosthetics”, the doctor assured.
