A 17-year-old Chinese girl from Fujian province has received a new face from a skin graft grown on her chest, according to a report by the BBC.<br /><br />Xu Jianmei was just five years old when she was severely disfigured in a fire, losing her chin, eyelids and part of her right ear.<br /><br />The teenager, who comes from a small fishing village, revealed her new face earlier this week following the successful operation.<br /><br />Xu's new face was grown on her chest by a team of Chinese doctors using skin grafted from her leg. <br /><br />"First, we took a piece of blood vessel fascia from her thigh and implanted it in her chest," said Jiang Chenghong her surgeon told Chinese state media.<br /><br />Next, a water-filled balloon was implanted underneath her skin and expanded over months.<br /><br />"We inserted a skin expander beneath the part of skin where the blood vessel fascia was planted, so that the part could expand and produce enough skin for her new face," added Jiang.<br /><br />According to Xu, she can now smile properly for the first time in 12 years. <br /><br />"With her new face she will be able to express herself in a more precise way. She will even be able to blush when her emotions change, but it will take a long time," said Jiang.<br /><br />--------------------------------------------------------<br /><br />TomoNews is your daily source for top animated news. We've combined animation and video footage with a snarky personality to bring you the biggest and best stories from around the world.<br /><br />For news that's fun and never boring, visit our channel:<br />https://www.youtube.com/user/TomoNewsUS<br /><br />Subscribe to stay updated on all the top stories:<br />http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=TomoNewsUS<br /><br />Stay connected with us here:<br />Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TomoNewsUS<br />Twitter @tomonewsus http://www.twitter.com/TomoNewsUS<br />Google+ http://gplus.to/TomoNewsUS
