The rib of a 65-year-old man was used to reconstruct his jaw after he was diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo surgery.

After suffering from pain in his mouth and a wound that wouldn’t heal, the man checked himself into the National Center of Oncology in Yerevan, Armenia, where he was diagnosed with oral squamous cell carcinoma.

After the cancer was removed alongside a part of the patient’s jaw, a free autogenous rib graft was used in the reconstructive surgery - the first such surgery in Armenia.

The man, identified by his first name as Tigran, has pledged to quit smoking and go back to taking care of his orchard once he recovers.