Cancer patient gets magnetic nose after his real one is removed to stop disease spreading

A man has been left with a magnetic nose after cancer surgery. 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, and told his story to the area's NHS chiefs at their latest board meeting.

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'.

He said: "In the early days I wasn't quite sure how much adhesive to put on, and my stick-on nose would sometimes fall off in hot weather, for example. And there was an incident in Asda which gave the girl on the till a bit of a shock."

"The implants were all ready last September, after four months to bed in, and I was so pleased with the results that I wrote to the chief executive. It's comfortable and it looks good, and I've even still got my sense of smell. I just need to go in to get it touched up for colour every now and then, like before going on holiday so it matches my skin."

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.

 ...TheMirror