For Pvt. Shamika Burrage, losing an ear due to a single-vehicle accident was emotionally devastating. Thankfully, army doctors had an answer for her that was going to be leagues better than an artificial ear. In one of the more complex ear reconstruction procedures available, doctors took cartilage from her ribs and then carved an ear out of it. The new “ear” was then put under her forearm, and then they let it “grow.” This process allowed new blood vessels to form.
The result is an ear with veins and a nerve so that Burrage can touch it and feel it like a regular ear. After the accident, her ear canal had closed up, but doctors were able to open them back up, reported the U.S. Army website.
Lt. Col. Owen Johnson III, the chief of plastic and reconstructive surgery at William Beaumont Army Medical Center where the procedure was done, explained the reason why the doctors were able to complete this procedure.
0 comments :
Post a Comment