Yep, this happened. Doctors at Johns Hopkins have attached a new ear to a patient that was grown on her own forearm. It's a medical first, and a heartwarming-if-a-little-yucky story. In 2008, Sherrie Walters was diagnosed with aggressive basal cell cancer, and had to have part of her ear, skull, and ear canal removed. But now she's the first patient to receive a new procedure that uses rib cartilage to build an entirely new ear, spearheaded by Dr. Patrick Byrne, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon. The new ear was then placed under the skin of her arm for months to grow.
And it seems to have been a success! The swelling still has to go down, but Byrne, who had been waiting for the right patient to try this procedure on, told CBS, "In my opinion, how it's just a matter of time as the swelling goes down and it heals, I believe she will have a normal looking ear." Which is incredible, really. Reconstructive surgery like this is one, among others, is one of the best and most human uses of all the scientific might we have at our disposal.
Images of the procedure and Walters' new ear are below, but before you start scrolling, be warned: this gets gross. [CBS via Drudge]
Woman Grows a New Ear on Her Arm, Has It Attached to Her Head (Warning: Graphic)
Poster Comment:
Maybe with the right stem manipulation a tooth implant could be grown the same way (if dentists weren't stuck in their medieval ways and did more research).