Nose 'grown under woman's skin'

Children at the Noma Hospital in Nigeria

A surgeon plans to grow a new nose under the skin of a badly disfigured woman's arm before transplanting it onto her face.

Madina Yussuf will travel to Aberdeen in December for the first of a series of operations by a team led by consultant Peter Ayliffe.

The woman, in her 20s, is one of thousands of in Africans who have contracted the gangrenous infection known as Noma.

The special hospital relies on fund raising

Most sufferers die and those who do survive are left with facial disfigurementa.

Madina was discovered by Mr Ayliffe on one of his regular visits to a special Noma Children's Hospital in Nigeria.

The cost of the treatment at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary will be met through donations and international charities.

It expected to be six months before Madina can return to Nigeria.

Gangrene sets in

Noma begins with ulcers in the mouth. If the condition is detected at this early stage prognosis is good.

Common antibiotics and an improved diet often lead to full recovery.

I will now be able to drink my milk through a straw

Noma survivor

However, if the sufferer is left untreated, the ulcers progress to Noma.

The cheeks and lips begin to swell and as the swelling increases gangrene sets in.

A scab then forms, falls away and leaves a gaping hole on the face.

Up to 90% of children will die if the condition is untreated.

'The Noma belt'

For the small number who do survive the scar tissue restricts jaw movement and the child is unlikely ever to speak or eat normally again.

Surgery heals the gaping wounds

The charity Facing Africa says: "Around 450,000 children aged between infancy and puberty will die each year, mainly in sub-Saharan countries from Senegal to Ethiopia, a region also known as the 'Noma belt'."

It adds: "A small boy of eight was recently asked why he was so happy and smiled all the time soon after facial reconstruction had been completed.

"His answer was short and simple, 'I will now be able to play with my friends'.

"Another child answering the same question said, 'because I will now be able to drink my milk through a straw'.

"These heart-warming answers may seem trite to the average person living a normal life in the western world, but they have a profound sensitivity in a small village in Northern Nigeria."