According to the National Birth Defects Prevention Network, one in every 8,000 to 10,000 births in the United States result in one of two congenital malformations of the ear: microtia (the child is born with only a cartilage stump for an ear) or anotia (the complete lack of an ear). Because there is no properly shaped ear canal or ear drum to capture and relay sound waves, a child with microtia or anotia usually has partial deafness as well.
Now, thanks to two novel tools developed by a Johns Hopkins Medicine resident and a former resident, the traditionally difficult surgery to create a replacement ear from a patient’s rib cartilage may soon be done faster, more simply and accurately, without wasting valuable tissue, and with the ability to “custom fit” the new organ for each patient.
