World’s first: ear temporarily transplanted to a leg and then restored

World’s first: ear temporarily transplanted to a leg and then restored

Chinese surgeons have, for the first time in medical history, successfully transplanted a severed ear to a patient’s leg and later reattached it to its original position, South China Morning Post reported.

The female patient lost her ear while working with heavy machinery and sustained severe injuries to her head, neck, and face. Due to serious damage to the blood vessels, conventional reconstruction was impossible. Doctors therefore opted for an unconventional method, temporarily grafting the ear onto the upper part of the leg, where the blood vessels were compatible with those of the ear.

The initial surgery lasted 10 hours. Five months later, after the patient’s condition had stabilised, the ear was returned to its original place during a six-hour operation. The procedure has been recorded as the world’s first successful case of this kind.