Once her nose is completed in the coming months, doctors will move onto her ears -- a less-cumbersome reconstructiveprocess, but one that will take time.
If their synthetic collagen is successful, it might provide a means for people who require reconstructive surgery to improve the healing process without the risk of immunological complications.
Rapid-prototyping machines have, for example, shortened the casting process for facial and cranial plates used in reconstructive surgery, says Robin Richards at the department of medical physics at University College, London.
In reconstructive surgery, patient satisfaction is most highly linked to being actively involved in the decision-making process and the relationship they have with their plastic surgeon.
It follows him as he travels around the country to perform reconstructive surgery on survivors of acid violence and is told by survivors going through the recovery and reconciliation process.