A Chinese man by the surname of Ji (his first name was withheld for privacy reasons) got in a traffic accident about a year ago and suffered severe injuries to the right side of his face as a result. This was how Ji ended up losing his right ear.
Since the accident, Ji has undergone several operations and procedures to restore his face, but his first doctors were unable to regrow his lost ear with what was left of it.
“I lost one ear. I have always felt that I am not complete,” he said to media source.
This sentiment was what ultimately encouraged Ji to seek out the help of Dr. Guo Shuzhong, a plastic surgeon who was willing to utilize slightly unconventional medical practices to restore Ji’s ear.
After Dr. Guo and Ji met for the initial check-ups, the former agreed to help Ji restore his ear in a three-step surgical procedure.
The first was surgically inserting a skin expander in Ji’s right forearm in preparation to receive cartilage – that would be taken in a second surgery from Ji’s ribs.
This extracted cartilage would then be inserted on top of the skin expander, and from it, Dr. Guo would grow Ji a new ear.
The ear still has a couple months before it will be ready for surgical transplant to Ji’s head, but thus far, both Ji and Dr. Guo believe the procedures will all be successful.
