Replacement of the nose

Today's reconstructive surgeons may not be aware that replacement of the nose was carried out successfully as long ago as the 16th century by the surgeon Gaspar Taliacozzo of Bologna, Italy, who published a detailed and illustrated account of his operation in 1597. This procedure comprised raising a flap of skin from the upper arm to reconstruct the nose. The arm was kept in place, with the hand resting on the patient's head, using elaborate splinting until adherence had taken place; the flap was then detached from the donor arm. The operation was seldom used following this success, surgeons relying on replacement of the lost nose with an artificial organ fashioned from wood or silver and strapped over the defect.