In New York, plastic surgeons have taken on the case of 24-year-old Brandy Elias who lost her nose to gunfire in Guyana, her homeland.

In Africa, Brandy had about two dozen surgeries on her face which became a mask of scar tissue; her appearance forced her to wear a gauze mask where her nose once was.

The novel surgical approach of creating a new nose is allowing it to grow and develop a blood supply by placing the fledging nose on her forearm. The bridge of the new nose is actually a piece of arm bone with the blood vessels attached.

According to Dr. Minas Constantinides of NYU Medical Center, Brandy will be able to breath and smell after the fledgling nose is moved from her arm to her face.

Exclaimed Brandy “I can’t wait to stop wearing the bandage (over my face) so people will stop staring and asking a lot of questions!”

Watch the KABC New York video about Brandy’s nose surgery.

The technique was done at least once before in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 2001, when 25-year-old Madina Yussuff  showed up, explaining she lost her nose as a child in Nigeria.

A gangrenous, flesh-eating disease known as Noma destroyed her lip and one eyelid along with her nose.

Consequently, Madina has spent most of her life in hospitals.

Scottish surgeons used Madina’s own ribs and thin slices of her skull to build the framework of a nose which was then implanted into her forearm.

Her skin in that area of her arm was expanded to provide a covering for the new nose.

Once a blood supply was well developed, the nose and its blood vessels were be moved to her face.

Various charities have donated 30,000 British pounds (US$49,470) while medical staff donated their time and skills.

According to the National Health Service in Aberdeen, Madina returned to her homeland and had some additional touch up surgery to increase her mouth and nose openings and was planning on starting a business with the money that been donated by big-hearted people in the U.K.