Chinese surgeons graft patient\u2019s torn-off ear onto her foot before putting it back in place in world first
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\nIn a world first, Chinese surgeons grafted a patient\u2019s torn-off ear onto her foot as a temporary measure to save it before putting it back into place, Anadolu Agency reported.<\/p>\n
According to the outlet, the woman\u2019s ear was torn off in a workplace accident by heavy machinery that also ripped away a large part of her scalp, leaving her with life-threatening injuries.<\/p>\n
The surgical team immediately tried to repair the scalp, said Qiu Shenqiang, deputy director at the microsurgery unit at the eastern Shandong provincial hospital in Jinan.<\/p>\n
However, the accident had caused damage to her scalp tissue and vascular network, meaning that the ear could not be reattached until the tissue had healed, said Qiu.<\/p>\n
Surgeons decided to graft the ear onto the top of her foot to keep the organ alive until it was ready to be reattached.<\/p>\n
The decision was made because the arteries and veins in the foot were highly compatible with those of the ear, Qiu explained.<\/p>\n
Over the course of five months, the woman\u2019s scalp and neck healed with the help of skin transplants taken from her stomach.<\/p>\n
In October, surgeons successfully performed a six-hour procedure putting her ear back in place.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chinese surgeons graft patient\u2019s torn-off ear onto her foot before putting it back in place in world first —————————- In a world first, Chinese surgeons grafted a patient\u2019s torn-off ear onto her foot as a temporary measure to save it before putting it back into place, Anadolu Agency reported. According to the outlet, the woman\u2019s …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":138575,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_108372464460192_245495985553329":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-138576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science"],"yoast_head":"\n