ALAN Doherty, the teenager who is having a new chin built, will miss out on St. Patrick's Day with his family in Ireland.He will be on a flight to New York on March 17 for another operation to correct damage from infection to his partially constructed chin.The 18-year-old knew he would have to undergo the extra procedure, but it was scheduled for later in the month. Surgeons in New York said they wanted him over sooner for special preparatory work.Alan, from Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, also had to miss out on Christmas and the New Year with his family because of the infection in part of his jaw.It cleared up, but surgeons decided the complete corrective process would require insertion of a new piece of bone from elsewhere in his body to the area inside his left jaw where he got the infection. That procedure has now been fixed for the end of next week.Paul McBride, of the Friends of Alan Doherty fundraising committee, said, "At this stage the doctors aren't sure whether the new piece of bone will be taken from the hip, lower leg or shoulder. That will be decided when Alan meets them next week."McBride added, "He is in great form but obviously a bit disappointed at missing St. Patrick's Day in Ireland. But Alan is a trouper. At the end of the day what he wants is a perfect chin and he'll go through whatever he has to in order to get it."Alan, whose story has been covered extensively in the Irish Voice, will remain in New York for at least a month. If all goes well, and the new piece of bone knits well, another operation in about four months will be carried out to complete construction of the perfect chin.Alan's chin has already cost $500,000 and more has to be paid out, including $143,000 for the next operation.He was born with a rare condition called otofacial syndrome. His parents Danny and Bernie were told at birth that he was unlikely to survive, but he did against massive odds. He had no chin and had to breathe through a tube in his throat.He is one of just two people with the condition and he was the first person in the world to undergo a series of operations for a new chin.Doctors agreed to carry out the surgery when Alan was brought into the world-famous Mount Sinai Hospital in New York for assessment while in the U.S. in 2006 for an athletics event put on by the Physically Challenged Irish and American Youth Team. Irish American organizer Bill Broderick asked the youngster if there was anything he wanted. He replied, "A perfect chin."Within months friends back home had established a fundraising support committee.In the first operation last June surgeons transplanted part of a hipbone to Alan's back to "grow" the core of a new chin.In October he underwent a groundbreaking 17-hour operation when the bone was moved to his face and shaped into a chin.Then came the infection setback. Alan, who has just received a Bank of Ireland regional community award, explained why he underwent a number of painful operations, and why he is looking forward to the final procedures. He said, "I just want a chin like everyone else, and no-one staring at me for the wrong reasons."