Daily Mirror
Doctors have fitted a man with a magnetic nose after his nose was removed for medical reasons.
Richard Curry was diagnosed with malignant melanoma in his septum – the thin strip which separates the nostrils – and his real nose had to be removed to stop the disease spreading.
Richard Curry was diagnosed with malignant melanoma in his septum – the thin strip which separates the nostrils – and his real nose had to be removed to stop the disease spreading.
The 71-year-old has now had magnetic implants inserted into his cheekbones and nasal cavity which hold his prosthetic nose in place.
Mr Curry said he was astounded by the success of the operation at the Royal Blackburn Hospital in England.
He said: “Losing my nose was something of a shock, but I didn’t have much choice because this kind of cancer is one of the most dangerous you can get.
“I was just grateful it was caught in time and removed, and when they mentioned they could attach a new one with magnets, I just thought it was amazing.”
Mr Curry’s nose was removed in 2013 after he had spotted traces of blood in a tissue, and the implants were gradually inserted over the course of the next 12 months, during which he wore ‘stick-on jobs’.
Mr Curry, who lives with his partner James Rogerson in the small village of Loveclough in Lancashire, wears his new nose all day but removes it at night when he goes to bed.
A check-up last month found no signs of the cancer returning, and the retired civil servant heaped praise on his consultants when he met the board last week, who were prosthetist Tony Simpson, maxillofacial surgeon Gary Cousin, and ear, nose and throat specialist Paddy Morar.
