Scientists Grow New Ears for Children with Defect

Scientists in China has grown new ears for five children born with a defect in one year called microtia. Microtia affects the shape and function of the ear. The scientists used a combination of 3-D printing and cultured cells. Researchers collected cartilage cells called chondrocytes form the children’s microtia ears and used them to grown new ear-shaped cartilage. They used 3-D printed models of the children’s healthy ears as a basis for growing the new one. Researchers then transferred the newly engineered ears to the children and performed ear reconstruction, reports CNN. Microtia, which is when a child is born with structural abnormalities or the complete absence of the ear, occurs in about one in every 5,000 live births, reports CNN. The prevalence of microtia is higher in Hispanic, Asian, Native American and Andean populations.

“This work clearly shows tissue engineering approaches for reconstruction of the ear and other cartilaginous tissues will become a clinical reality very soon,”said Lawrence Bonassar, a professor of biomedical engineering and mechanical and aerospace engineering at Cornell University, who was not involved in the new study but separately has studied 3-D-printed ears in microtia patients, according to CNN. “The aesthetics of the tissue produced are on par with what can be expected of the best clinical procedures at the present time.”