Tessa ‘bounces back’ after second stage of pioneering surgery

by Caoimhe Hegarty

A four-year-old girl from Maghera has once again amazed her parents with her bravery and strength after undergoing the second stage of surgery in a pioneering medical procedure.

Little Tessa Evans made medical history when she became the first person to have a nasal implant fitted just two years ago.

Tessa was born with an extremely rare medical condition called congenital arhinia, which means she has no nose.  She has no sense of smell and no sinuses although she can cough, sneeze and catch a cold.

The pioneering procedure used a 3D printer to build an implant which was fitted under her skin.

Over the years, the implant will stretch her skin and encourage a new ‘nose’ to grow.

On Monday last, Tessa returned to Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) in London where she underwent surgery to have her second nasal implant fitted.

Even though there were no complications with Tessa’s first surgery, her parents, Gráinne and Nathan were still very anxious about the surgery, especially as Tessa is now older and will have the procedure repeated every two years.

However Tessa has once again showed just how tough she is. The following day after surgery, she was up playing in the ward.

After returning back home to County Derry, Tessa even pleaded with her parents to let her go to school.

Speaking last night, Gráinne said the way Tessa has ‘bounced back’ has ‘reassured’ them that the decision to have the pioneering surgery was the ‘right’ one.

“She is just amazing. When she first came around after surgery, she was quite distressed and upset and I thought that this wasn’t going to a lot more difficult than the first time but she slept it off. She was up the next day and playing and making friends in the ward, she just continues to amaze us,” said mum Gráinne.

She added: “We are so proud of her, she just gets on with it and rarely complains. I have been more emotional than her. Despite having over 100 stitches in her head, she didn’t even flinch when I washed her hair on Thursday.

“It has also been hard to keep her off school. We only arrived back home on Thursday evening but on Friday morning, when I wasn’t feeling up to getting dressed, she asked why she couldn’t go to school. The way she has bounced back has reassured us that we have made the right decision and the right path for Tessa.

“She has never looked back,” said Grainne.