Hosp reconstructs teen’s ear from rib cartilage

Madurai: ENT surgeons at Meenakshi Mission Hospital and Research Centre reconstructed the ear of a 16-year-old boy born with microtia using cartilage harvested from his own ribs.

The hospital said the traditionally multi-stage 3D ear reconstruction was done in a single surgery, minimising pain, reducing hospital stay and enabling faster recovery.Performing the entire procedure in a single sitting involved four stages. Harvesting rib cartilage, carving, shaping and suturing it to replicate the patient’s normal right ear, removing the underdeveloped ear while preserving the overlying skin and underlying blood supply, and positioning and securing the customised ear in the anatomically correct location.

Conventionally, these stages are performed with intervals ranging from a few hours to several days between procedures, it said.“While restoring hearing may not be possible in every case, we can now provide children with a natural-looking ear through advanced 3D ear reconstruction using the patient’s own rib cartilage, instead of artificial implants,” said Dr D R Nageswaran, HOD, department of ENT, who led the surgery.