Medical Breakthrough in China!
When chinese Mr. Ji had lost his ear in a car accident around 1 year ago, he probably would have never dreamed of having 2 ears again.
But with the work of plastic surgeon Mr. Guo Shuzong, his dream may just come true:
He managed to grow an ear, completely out of his body's own material.
This is a medical breakthrough project, and although similar implantations have been done before, it's still a unique case.
“Since I lost one ear, I have always felt that I am not complete" - Mr. Ji, Patient
Mr. Ji actually had many severe operations after his car crash, where he lost almost the whole right side of his face.
Skin was being transplanted, his cheekbones were restored and more - now, the new ear is said to be the final step to a new life.
So how is such a complicated procedure even possible?
Step 1:
The surgeon first stretched the skin on the patient's arm (by injecting water), so that new tissue would grow there which would be similar in color and texture.
Step 2:
He then proceeded by taking cartilage from the Mr. Ji's ribs, shape it into an ear and implant it to the arm - to create the shell of the ear.
Step 3:
He will attach the fully grown artificial organ to the patient's head.
The procedure isn't done yet - it will take about 4 months until the gristle will be fully covered in skin.
But after that has happened, the surgeon will take on Step 3 and attach the ear to the patient's head and connect it to the body's blood supply.
Operations like this are very risky and there's always a chance that the body might reject the new body part, but since the ear has been grown from his own body's material, the doctor was very positive about the outcome.
Also, he mentioned that the second step was the most risky - and that had already been completed successfully.
Will the patient be able to hear with the new ear?
That's not quite clear yet.
The new ear that has been grown is not a fully functional organ - important connections to the brain are missing, but it's still questionable whether it would be possible to re-attch those to the new ear and give the patient his full hearing ability back.
Whether or not that might be the case - it's still an incredible surgery that will change this man's life and make him feel more complete again!
Sources: 1, 2, 3 - Images: 1, 2, 3
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