World’s First: How Chinese Surgeons Grafted Woman’s Torn-Off Ear Onto Foot To Keep It Alive Before Reattaching It To Head

In an incredible achievement of regenerative microsurgery, Chinese doctors have managed to save a woman’s cut-off ear by utilizing an unusual “living incubator”: her foot.

The patient, after a terrible accident, underwent ear avulsion completely and the delicate tissue could not be reattached to her head immediately as there was not enough blood supply. 

Surgeons at a specialist hospital in China were faced with the situation of losing the organ permanently and so, they decided on a high-risk “ectopic implantation” method.

They grafted the ear onto the patient’s instep where blood supply is abundant due to the rich vascular network of the lower limb, thus keeping the cartilage and skin alive for weeks until the facial wounds were healed well enough for a final transplant.

Vascular Salvage

In the case of traumatic amputations, the main issue is ischemia, which is the rapid death of the tissue because of the absence of oxygen. When the ear was presented to the surgical team, there was already heavy damage done to the facial arteries surrounding the ear which made traditional replantation impossible.

In order to save the ear from dying, the surgeons opted for an intricate “pre-fabrication” procedure. They opened a spot on the patient’s foot and joined the micro vessels of the ear with the dorsalis pedis artery.

This temporary physiological “parking” made it possible for the ear to get its blood supply, and thus, it kept its pink color and maintained the same structure as before. 

For a few weeks, the patient had her ear fixed temporarily to her leg which, although it looked strange, was vital for the survival of the “pre-conditioned” tissue that was eventually to be returned home.

Microsurgical Restoration

The last part of this medical journey was a complicated autologous grafting. After the woman’s head injury had stabilized and a clean bed of granulation tissue formed, the ear was meticulously taken off the foot and along with it the newly formed blood supply. 

The surgical team under the utilization of high-powered microscopes and sutures which were thinner than a human hair, united the ear to the temporal vessels. The organ’s “second birth” was a complete success, the ear was able to feel and had the natural color fully. 

This whole case is a living example of the skill and power of modern-day trauma surgery, it has confirmed that when the direct route is obstructed, the human body can act as its own life-support system.

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