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
- Instagram -
© Sirwinchester
I saw a documentary about something similar a while back where they were growing ears on mice - I think this is more pleasant and acceptable to most people.
very interesting, thanks for sharing that!
Sometimes a surgeon has no other choice but to grow a body part somewhere else and then re-attach it to the original place.. as long as it works that'S awesome!
Yes but I do feel bad for the mouse if that happens - I think this way is better anyway in terms of preventing rejection.
amazing. he thought he’d never feel complete again and now he got a 2nd chance!
only because one plastic surgeon was brave enough to try such an extravagant procedure!
Resteemed!
thank you, appreciate it!
wow that’s CRAZY. he just created a new ear basically out of nowhere!!
it's really an amazing story!
that’s so inspiring to see how far medicine has come, and how much they can help people now!
exactly, it provides hope for many other patients!
that’s weird, but awesome at the same time! I hope everything works out well for him
I hope so too, but according to the doctor he's already past the most dangerous stage
It really does look like an ear! even though it’s not fully grown yet
I know right? the plastic surgeon has done an amazing job
Absolutely amazing. Just shows you how much technology is advancing
definitely! this would never be possible without modern medical appliances and techniques
imagine they just left the ear stuck on his arm … that would be so strange
think of all the things he could do differently then!
wow so interesting, I didn’t know such a procedure would be possible!
it's very rare and unique - and definitely not every plastic surgeon can do it!
Isn’t it crazy to see how far advanced medicine is nowadays? that’s just amazing!
exactly my thoughts!
wow! Imagine if it would've been operational at the current position on his arm. He could be the first human in history to cover both his ears with only one arm and one movement if needed. :D
haha, yes you're right!
And imagine all the things he could do if he could HEAR with that ear on his arm
Actually, I can't come up with any good examples of that, hahah, to what good would it be :D
source: zubeezone.com
Shared on twitter
Disclaimer: I am just a bot trying to be helpful.
This post has been linked to from another place on Steem.
Learn more about and upvote to support linkback bot v0.5. Flag this comment if you don't want the bot to continue posting linkbacks for your posts.
Built by @ontofractal