Changjiang Daily Wuhan Client May 30th 9-year-old Lichuan boy Lele (pseudonym) will have the happiest Children’s Day, because he finally “grown” A pair of new ears. A year ago, a team of plastic surgery experts from the Union Hospital Affiliated to Huazhong University of Science and Technology went to the countryside for a free clinic and found Xiao Lele, who had congenital binaural deformities, and attracted donations to perform ear reconstruction surgery for him. On the afternoon of May 30, Lele and her mother contacted Dr. Xiehe together. The Changjiang Daily reporter clearly saw through the video that Lele’s newly “grown” ears were lifelike, almost the same as children of the same age.
Free medical clinic in the mountains brought back a boy with binauris
In 2013, Ms. Lin (pseudonym) from Lichuan, Enshi gave birth to her second child in a local hospital, but she was born with a second child. It was unexpectedly discovered that the baby’s ears were severely deformed, especially the left ear was only two small lumps of flesh.
In addition to congenital binaural malformation, Lele also suffers from a congenital cleft palate. The couple worked part-time and saved money to have a cleft palate repaired when the child was 6 years old. After school, Lele, whose ears were still “different”, was inevitably ridiculed by some classmates, and felt depressed.
Children’s Day is coming soon. Professor Sun Jiaming, director of Xiehe Plastic Surgery, interacted with the children.
In the summer of 2021, Professor Sun Jiaming, director of the plastic surgery department of Union Hospital, led a team of experts to make a free clinic tour in western Hubei, screening disabled patients who were unable to treat them, and introduced large charitable funds to provide them with free surgery.
Ms. Lin and his wife brought their children to the free clinic to receive a diagnosis and fill in the application materials. In less than two months, Ms. Lin received a call: The child meets the conditions for public welfare assistance and can receive free treatment from Wuhan Union experts.
Superior carving technology “recreates” lifelike ears
At the end of November 2021, Ms. Lin brought Lele to Wuhan, director of plastic surgery at Union Hospital The team of Professor Sun Jiaming and Chief Physician Guo Nengqiang found that Lele’s left ear lacked the external auditory canal and auricle, and only had a little earlobe. The team repeatedly discussed and determined the surgical plan of “autologous costal cartilage external ear reconstruction”. This operation includes a number of high-precision plastic surgery techniques.
At the event site, Chief Physician Guo Nengqiang of Xiehe Plastic Surgery connected with Lele who is far away.
With the cooperation of Dr. Sun Jiaming and Chief Physician Guo Nengqiang, the first-stage operation was carried out as scheduled. The costal cartilage was removed, the stent was carved, and it was embedded under the skin of the mastoid area to form the preauricular shape. The operation lasted 8 times. Hours completed successfully. After 5 months of recovery, Lele’s ears took shape.
On April 18, 2022, Guo Nengqiang’s team performed the second-stage bilateral microtia repair for Lele, which made Lele’s reconstructed ear support “stand up” and restored the support function of the ear. It is convenient to wear masks and glasses in the future.
Chief Physician Guo Nengqiang operated on the child.
“The ear support is made from the child’s own costal cartilage. The carving of the ear support is a major difficulty in surgery.” Guo Nengqiang said that the human ear is three-dimensional, but the costal cartilage is flat. Through careful carving and repeated shaping, a real and three-dimensional auricle is constructed. For children with unilateral ear deformity, it is also necessary to maintain symmetry with the contralateral ear. “This tests the sculpting skills and aesthetic ability of plastic surgeons.” Guo Nengqiang replied to the reporter.
The incidence rate is 1 in 10,000, but the prognosis is good
The plastic surgery department of Union Hospital has been ranked among the top five in the “Fudan Medical Ranking” in the past three consecutive years, 2020 The Ear Reconstruction Center was established in 2009, and it can complete more than 100 cases of ear deformity operations every year. On May 30, Guo Nengqiang, director of the Ear Reconstruction Center, also gave a popular science class for parents.
Medical staff and children “compared with each other”.
“One out of every 10,000 newborns will suffer from congenital ear deformities.” Guo Nengqiang introduced that the incidence of congenital ear deformities in my country is about 1:10,000, often accompanied by hearing loss, Due to various problems such as short half of the face and dysplasia of the affected side nerve, most babies look at their ears as incomplete and incomplete, but the inner ear is usually normal and can maintain a certain hearing through bone conduction.
“The auricle of a child can reach 95% of that of an adult at the age of 6, and it is basically the same as an adult at the age of 10.” Guo Nengqiang said that autologous costal cartilage is currently the best scaffold material for ear reconstruction. After cutting, it will grow again and has little effect on physical health. Therefore, the optimal age for surgery is 6 to 14 years old. The costal cartilage in this age group has good elasticity, and the skin behind the ear mastoid is thin and rich in elasticity and extensibility, which is very close to the requirements of ear tissue composition. At the same time, the shape of the reconstructed ear is ideal, the skin texture and color and cartilage elasticity are better, and the surgical risk is relatively small. (Changjiang Daily reporter Roland, correspondent Nie Wenwen and Chen Youwei)
[Editor: Yu Lina]
[Source: Changjiang Daily-Changjiang Net]