Nergui Bramsai
Boy, 7 Years old, Mongolia
Congenital Agenesis of Nose
Seoul St.Mary's Hospital 2013
A boy without a nose and airway was born in the Gobi Desert, the infertile land of Mongolia in Central Asia. The mother could not believe what she saw. What should I name him? Or will this baby survive? Even before naming the baby, he was sent to an emergency room of Ulaanbaatar hospital.
The meaning of : Nergui : “no name.” Nergui’s mother puts ear tags for livestock in Nergui’s mouth every night. It makes a temporary airway to help him breathe during sleep. “From 2000 till now, there have been only 30 people not having a nose and airway congenitally like Nergui all over the world. In most of these cases, they are dead before their first birthday. Nergui is a very rare case.”
- Professor JongWon Lee of Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital
With the help of the World Vision, Nergui went into Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, and underwent 8 hours of operation by 9 different medical teams, including plastic surgery in July 2013. They made nostrils and rounded sides of nose with the ribs and cartilage. It started to take the shape of a nose after covering the inside and outside of nose with forehead skin. The artificial airway (stent) was made by 3D printing technology and the airway was transplanted to Nergui. Now, Nergui breathes with his nose. This airway was made for the second time in the world, and it was applied for a patent in the name of Nergui. Nergui is another word for hope to people who are suffering from the same disease.
