Microtia affects numerous young children. The St. Albans & Harpenden Review reports on one boy with microtia who recently got to fulfill a longtime wish in a recent article titled “‘My wishes have come true’ – nine-year-old boy born without ears wears pair of sunglasses for first time.”
The author of the article writes, “A boy born without any ears has fulfilled his simple wish to be able to wear a pair of sunglasses for the first time after having a new pair of ears created. Kieran Sorkin, who attends Maple Primary School, was born deaf and had a rare condition which meant he did not have fully formed ears – just small lobes where his ears should be. But last August, experts at the world renowned Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) in London performed a six hour operation where they used cartilage from his ribs to create a pair of ears and grafted them to his head. Last week at a follow-up appointment, his dreams came true when lead surgeon Neil Bulstrode said the ears had healed sufficiently for Kieran to sport sunglasses just in time for summer. The nine-year-old schoolboy responded ‘awesome,’ before promptly putting on a pair for the first time and admiring them in a mirror. Mr Bulstrode used an outline of his mother, Louise Sorkin’s, own ears as a ‘family template’ to make them as close as possible to the shape that the youngster might otherwise have had. Kieran, who lives in Bushey, said: ‘Before the operations I thought I might get elephant ears or mouse ears, but I’ve got my mum’s ears. It’s weird but I feel great.’”
The article goes on to provide some context on microtia. According to the author, “The youngster was born with bilateral microtia – which affects just one in 100,000 babies – a congenital deformity where the external ear is underdeveloped.”
If you have a child affected by microtia, surgery could make all the difference in your child’s life. When it comes to microtia ear reconstruction surgery, you need a surgeon you can trust. Rex E. Moulton-Barrett, M.D. is internationally known and acknowledged. He is board certified with The American Board of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and The American Board of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.
With microtia ear reconstruction surgery, patients will go home the same day as the surgery, with antibiotics. In many cases, pain medications are not needed, yet they will be provided anyways. We place an ear dressing for three days and the sutures are removed approximately 10 days after surgery. Also, we restrict contact sports for about three to four weeks and you can begin washing the hair after a few days from the surgery, but make sure to keep the ear dry. We remove the sutures a couple of months later.
If you’re considering microtia ear reconstruction surgery, contact us for a consultation.