A Prosthetic Ear Case Study
Wednesday February 10, 2010
When James McElroy slammed on his brakes to avoid a cyclist who pulled out in front of him, his joy at missing the person was soon overtaken by panic and fear. His braking had induced a skid, which rapidly went out of control and hit a parked truck. This impact caused his airbags to deploy and explode the side window which the impact had already damaged. The glass impacted the side of James’ head and caused severe trauma.
“I braked as this cyclist cut in front of me and the car lost traction on the wet road. I was relieved at missing the bike, but then the car began to skid and I lost control. The car slid sideways into a truck, and I remember seeing the writing on the back for a water cooler company. I remember it vividly.
Then the pain came as the airbag smacked me in the face. The windscreen had been broken, and the site window had been smashed by the impact, and the airbag. I was in shock but could feel pain in my nose and on the side of my head. It was only when I felt something wet on the side that I realized the full extent of my injuries. My left ear was completely missing and there was a lot of blood on my hand.”
Fortunately for James, the accident occurred near the local hospital where he was rushed by the people in the car behind him. One of the occupants of the car was an off-duty paramedic who knew to apply pressure and stabilize James as much as possible to the journey.
While quick reactions might save a severed finger or toe, the ear is a very different situation. If the surgeon isn’t confident of being able to reinstate the blood supply to the ear, they leave it, repair the damaged skin and encourage it to heal, ready for a prosthetic later on. It’s much safer to leave it, than try a risk procedure that might leave the area worse than they found it. Ear prosthetics are now advanced enough that they are mostly indistinguishable from the real ear.
Once the area had healed, James returned to the hospital to receive implants which are placed in to the bone. A model of James’ remaining ear was made and a prosthetic created to match it. This was held in place using magnets on the implants.
While discussing it here only takes a paragraph, the reality was three procedures over the space of four months to recreate the ear.
“I had always worn my hair short, cut close to my skull. I have it a bit longer now, to cover the scar tissue, but apart from that I look exactly the same as I did before the accident. I’m happy with my new ear, and nobody notices unless I tell them.”
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“I braked as this cyclist cut in front of me and the car lost traction on the wet road. I was relieved at missing the bike, but then the car began to skid and I lost control. The car slid sideways into a truck, and I remember seeing the writing on the back for a water cooler company. I remember it vividly.
Then the pain came as the airbag smacked me in the face. The windscreen had been broken, and the site window had been smashed by the impact, and the airbag. I was in shock but could feel pain in my nose and on the side of my head. It was only when I felt something wet on the side that I realized the full extent of my injuries. My left ear was completely missing and there was a lot of blood on my hand.”
Fortunately for James, the accident occurred near the local hospital where he was rushed by the people in the car behind him. One of the occupants of the car was an off-duty paramedic who knew to apply pressure and stabilize James as much as possible to the journey.
While quick reactions might save a severed finger or toe, the ear is a very different situation. If the surgeon isn’t confident of being able to reinstate the blood supply to the ear, they leave it, repair the damaged skin and encourage it to heal, ready for a prosthetic later on. It’s much safer to leave it, than try a risk procedure that might leave the area worse than they found it. Ear prosthetics are now advanced enough that they are mostly indistinguishable from the real ear.
Once the area had healed, James returned to the hospital to receive implants which are placed in to the bone. A model of James’ remaining ear was made and a prosthetic created to match it. This was held in place using magnets on the implants.
While discussing it here only takes a paragraph, the reality was three procedures over the space of four months to recreate the ear.
“I had always worn my hair short, cut close to my skull. I have it a bit longer now, to cover the scar tissue, but apart from that I look exactly the same as I did before the accident. I’m happy with my new ear, and nobody notices unless I tell them.”