Pictures of a man with what seems like a nose growing out of his forehead have gone viral, with many viewers bickering over questions of its authenticity.

But apparently, the photo is not a hoax. There really is a nose growing out of the man's forehead.

The man, who lives in China, is actually growing a nose on his forehead to be used on himself. He had suffered severe damage to his own nose after a vehicular accident, and an infection had eaten away all the cartilage, hence making it impossible for his original nose to be fixed.

The next possible solution is, therefore, to grow him an entirely different nose.

The procedure, while it looks incredibly bizarre, is a plastic surgery technique that is used frequently. It involved the doctors placing tissue expanders (creating space within which to stretch the skin) underneath the skin of the forehead, creating the shape of a nose with the assistance of some plates and screws. Cartilage is then harvested from the ribs as filler for the nose. Once the new nose is ready it will be taken to replace his old nose. Then, the growth sire will be sewn together, to leave minimal scarring.

A forehead might be the least preferable place to grow a nose (or anything else for that matter, especially anything that is not supposed to be growing there in the first place), but doctors say that it is the perfect site. The forehead is filled with so many blood vessels that nourish the transplant, and doctors need not have to worry about reconnecting any of them upon removal.

While several note that the new nose seems to be a little too outlandishly big for the unfortunate man's face, the doctors have explained that it will shrink to a normal size over time.