Doctors working with 3D BioTherapeutics successfully transplanted a 3D-printed ear made from human cells onto a woman born with microtia, an extremely rare ear deformity.
Why it matters: Using a microtia patient’s own cartilage tissue to make a transplant allows for a more flexible ear and is much less invasive than the typical surgery that’s recommended, in which cartilage is extracted from the ribs, according to CBS News.
- Up to 1,500 babies in the U.S. are born with microtia every year, “a condition where one or both ears are underdeveloped or missing entirely,” The Verge reported.
What they’re saying: The CEO and co-founder of 3DBio, Daniel Cohen, said this technology could reach all kinds of people, not just those with microtia.
- “This is a truly historic moment for patients with microtia, and more broadly, for the regenerative medicine field as we are beginning to demonstrate the real-world application of next-generation tissue engineering technology,” said Cohen, per CBS News.
- Arturo Bonilla, the ear reconstruction surgeon who led the team performing the procedure, spoke on the self-confidence benefits of having the ear despite its little to no impact on hearing, saying bullying is what usually leads microtia patients to look into medical treatments, per CBS News.
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Details: To create the new appendage, doctors conducted a biopsy on the patient’s deformed ear and extracted the cells that create cartilage, called chondrocytes.
- The cartilage cells are enlarged and combined with a collagen-based bio-ink and then formed “via a 3D bioprinter into a living ear implant that matches the size and shape of a typical ear,” reports Cornell Chronicle.
- A spokesperson for 3DBio told CBS News the woman received the surgery in March and will be monitored for the next five years.