Chinese doctors grow a new ear on a man’s ARM

March 31, 2017

Mr Ji, whose age is unknown, lost his right ear in a traffic accident in 2015
He yearned to have the organ back because he no longer ‘felt complete’
A plastic surgeon took cartilage from the patient’s ribs to build a new ear
Once fully grown, it was finally transplanted from his arm to his head

Tracy You

and
Julian Luk

and
Stephen Matthews For Mailonline

Published:
04:13 EDT, 31 March 2017

|
Updated:
10:04 EDT, 31 March 2017

e-mail

View
comments

Chinese doctors who grew a man a new ear on his forearm after a serious traffic accident have now transplanted the organ onto his head.

Leading plastic surgeon Dr Guo Shuzhong performed the complex surgery during a seven hour procedure this week.

He announced that blood was successfully flowing into patient Mr Ji’s new right ear, which had spent months growing on his arm.

Chinese doctors grew a man a new ear on his forearm after his organ was badly damaged in a traffic accident in 2015

Leading plastic surgeon Dr Guo Shuzhong performed the complex surgery to transplant it onto his head during a seven hour procedure this week

Dr Guo, who works at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University in the city of Xi’an, was assigned to the case in 2016.

According to reports, Mr Ji, whose age and first name are unknown, sustained serious injuries in the right side of his face in a traffic accident in 2015.

Weekend GPs for everyone within two years: Patients will see…

Longer waits for hip operations, warns NHS boss: Patients…

A quarter of adults can’t even manage a weekly half-hour…

Why the war on sugar could be BAD for your health:…

Following the injuries, the man received multiple surgical operations to restore his facial skin and his cheeks.

However, he felt frustrated about losing his right ear for good.

The realistic ear, which was modelled with the help of 3D-printing technology, was made with cartilage from the patient’s ribs

Dr Guo decided to ‘plant’ an artificial ear on Mr Ji’s arm – a procedure done in November 2015

The patient previously told a report from China News: ‘I lost one ear. I have always felt that I am not complete.’

However, the damage was so severe that doctors were not able to regenerate his ear over the scar.

HOW THE OPERATION HAPPENED

After the initial check-ups, Dr Guo decided to carry out a three-step surgical procedure for Ji.

In the first step, the plastic surgeon and his team embedded a skin expander under Ji’s right forearm.

In the second step, they took the cartilage from Ji’s ribs to fashion a new ear before planting the artificial organ in the patient’s right forearm.

Then, during the operation last week, the doctors moved the fully grown ear from Ji’s arm to his head.

That is when Dr Guo decided to ‘plant’ an artificial ear on Mr Ji’s forearm – a procedure done in November last year.

The realistic ear, which was modelled with the help of 3D-printing technology, was made with cartilage from the patient’s ribs.

It was then attached to his forearm under a piece of expanded skin. There it was allowed to grow for several months until experts deemed it ready for the transplant.

Mr Ji will remain in hospital under observation for about two weeks until his new ear is fully functioning, at which point he will be allowed to go home.

According to Dr Guo, he and his team repeat the miracle procedure for about 500 children every year.

Dr Guo, a renowned plastic surgeon, conducted China’s first face transplant operation in 2006, according to China Daily.

Dr Guo Shuzhong inspected the patient after he carried out the pioneering procedure (pictured during the growing process)

Mr Ji will remain in hospital under observation for about two weeks until his new ear is fully functioning, at which point he will be allowed to go home