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.
Dr. Anthony Atala of the Wake Forest Institute told CBS the goal is to "provide replacement tissues and organs that can be used to help [such patients] survive."Atala says some body parts are easier to recreate than others, such as the ear, though the hope is eventually all body parts can be regenerated. So far, human bladders have already been replicated based on cells and replaced into the body. Each replication takes approximately 6 to 8 weeks.
Habari kutoka Discovery News
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