What would happen if the ear grows up in arms? This is what US Army surgeons do. They develop new ears in the arm of a female soldier.
This was done after the soldier lost her ears in a car accident. Doctors at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in Texas (WBAMC) took a female soldier's cartilage and ribs to "make" new ears. The bones are then inserted under the skin of the lower arm, so it can grow.
This technique allows the ear to form new arteries, veins, and nerves to restore sensation in the ear. "The whole goal is by the time she finished with all of this, it looks nice, " says Lieutenant Colonel Owen Johnson III, head of the plastic surgery and reconstruction at WBAMC, ears can feel, and in five years if someone does not know her very well, they will not know that an artificial ears, " he said
The female soldier is Shamika Burrage. The Mississippi woman lost her ears in 2016. When she was driving a car then the tire exploded and make the car out of the way upside down several times. When rescued by officers, Burrage suffered a head injury and lost one of her ears. After several months of rehabilitation, later she felt uncomfortable with her injuries which affect her appearance. Plastic surgeons at WBAMC offer options for total ear reconstruction.
"I don't want to do this reconstruction, but I think that it could be a good thing, " said Burrage. "I will do my prosthetic (glue ear), to avoid the more scars, but I want a real ear, " she said.
During several reconstruction procedures, installing a new ear and reopening the damaged ear canal, it is likely that the woman can regain her hearing. However, before that, Burrage had to run two more operations before the reconstruction was completely finished. "It's a long process, but I'm back (optimistic)," she said.
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