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Surgeons give teenager a new chin | Surgeons give teenager a new chin |
(10 minutes later) | |
A teenager from Ireland has been given a new "million dollar chin" by surgeons in America. | A teenager from Ireland has been given a new "million dollar chin" by surgeons in America. |
Alan Doherty, 19, from Donegal, was born with a rare condition called otofacial syndrome, which effectively meant he had no lower half to his face. | Alan Doherty, 19, from Donegal, was born with a rare condition called otofacial syndrome, which effectively meant he had no lower half to his face. |
His parents were told he was unlikely to survive. | His parents were told he was unlikely to survive. |
But after a huge fundraising effort by local people, he has become the first person to have a series of operations to create a new jaw and chin. | But after a huge fundraising effort by local people, he has become the first person to have a series of operations to create a new jaw and chin. |
We are not sure if I will be able to eat or drink, but the main thing I wanted was the chin Alan Doherty Alan spent much of his early life in hospital, but coped with not being able to talk or swallow. | |
However, he found it very difficult to deal with people constantly staring at him in the street. | |
Doctors took a piece of bone from Alan's hip, and carved it into the shape of a jaw. | |
They implanted the bone into his back to grow nerves and supporting tissue around it. | |
Then they removed the cultivated bone, and performed the pioneering surgery on his face, adding extra tissue to make his new chin look as realistic as possible. | |
Speaking through a voice machine, Alan said: "We are not sure if I will be able to eat or drink, but the main thing I wanted was the chin." |