Indian-Origin Doctor Creates History By Growing Ears on a 8-Year-Old Boy in Ohio, USA

It was really a miracle, when outer ears started to grow from the rib cartilage of an 8-year-old boy.

Dr Ananth Murthy, director of plastic surgery at Akron Children's Hospital attained the success after a series of miraculous surgeries.

The surgery was done on Elijah Bell, a second-grade student at Frazer Elementary in Canton, Ohio. He was born with bilateral atresia microtia, a rare birth defect where the outer ears are undeveloped.

He had no opening to the middle and inner ear and therefore had to wear a bone-anchored hearing aid. The final round of the surgeries to craft a set of outer ears were completed on July 28 at Akron Children's Hospital.

The total procedure included five surgeries, starting when Elijah was 4 years old. Along with harvesting cartilage to create the ears, he had to use a skin graft from Elijah's thigh to create a gap between his ears and his head. During the final surgery in July, Dr. Murthy gave Elijah's ears detailed "hills and valleys."

"The body naturally wants to smooth everything out as it heals, so we always have to go back a couple of times to help create the natural curves of an ear. It is an artistic procedure," said Dr Murthy.

Colleen Bell, Elijah's mom considered it to be a miracle in the family. She also said that Elijah has a new outlook on his life after the surgery.

Source: Medindia