Man's Face Rebuilt With His Own Bones

(MYFOX NATIONAL) - A British cancer survivor is recovering after having his face rebuilt using different parts of his body.

The Mirror reports that Tim Gallego, 46, had been battling mouth cancer for eight years. The combination of the effects of the cancer and chemotherapy left Gallego's face badly deformed.

After undergoing 16 operations to have bones, skin and arteries from all over his body implanted into his face, Gallego has made a full recovery and is happy that he can look himself in the mirror again.

"I looked like a monster but I've always been positive and believed I'd get back to normal," Gallego said. "It's just that normal has ended up being a bit different."

Gallego had bones from his rib cage and hips removed to form the structure of his new nose and jaw to hold in his new teeth. He also had arteries from both his legs built into his neck and skin from his wrists grafted onto his lower face.

A woman who had her face destroyed by a shotgun blast last year had a similar face reconstruction . Her cheeks were recreated from her rib bones and a piece of bone from her thigh was used to form her new upper jaw. Doctors also used bone, muscles, nerves, skin and blood vessels from a dead woman in the multiple surgeries.

In July, a man who had been blind for 12 years had his eyesight restored after his tooth was transplanted into his eye .