Skin cancer patients may be able to have parts of their body reconstructed using cartilage grown from their very own tissue.

Swiss researchers reconstructed the noses of five skin cancer patients using laboratory-grown cartilage that was shaped to fit the patient’s individual noses.  The scientists at the University of Basel were able to create the tissue using only a very small sample of the patients’ cartilage.

The technique is called “tissue engineering” and is aimed at facial surgery for skin cancer that causes large parts of the skin to be removed that had to be replaced with cartilage from other parts of the patient’s body.  This caused other parts of the body to be deformed and also expose them to infection from additional surgeries.

“The same surgical procedure is continued, and the patient is allowed to breath normally,” Dr. Ivan Martin told FoxNews. “The outcome of the procedure was to determine safety and feasibility, which is measured in terms of adverse events and in terms of stability.  In all the five cases, there were no adverse events, and the patients could breathe as well in both nostrils, indicating complete satisfaction.”

The scientists say a practical application of the process is still a long way off because of multiple government approvals that will be necessary.