JAKARTA - A surgeon has successfully implanted an external ear in a woman which was developed and 3D printed in the laboratory.
The unique 3D-printed ear, made from human cells, was then transplanted into a woman who was born with a rare ear deformity.
The ear was made from her own cell as a mirror replica of her other ear. It is 3DBio Therapeutics, the regenerative medicine company behind the implant.
The transplant is part of the first clinical trial of the technology, and its success marks a major step forward for tissue engineering.
"If everything goes according to plan, this will revolutionize the way it is done," said the ear reconstructive surgeon who led the team performing the procedure, Arturo Bonilla.
About 1,500 babies born in the United States (US) each year have microtia, a condition in which one or both ears do not develop or are missing altogether.
In light of this, 3DBio Therapeutics decided to conduct a clinical trial and it is currently underway with 11 participants testing their AuriNovo ear, a personalized tissue implant to replace the missing ear in this patient.
Usually, microtia patients have ears made from rib grafts or synthetic materials. Instead, this experimental process involves taking a biopsy from the patient's existing ear and removing the cartilage cells.
The cells are then grown and 3D printed into the shape of the patient's ear. Ears continue to regenerate cartilage throughout the patient's lifetime, and because they are made from their own cells, they are less likely to be rejected.
So far, the research has been a major year for advances in transplant technology. In January, doctors gave the patient a heart transplant with a pig's heart, although the patient died months later.
However, the ear is simpler than an organ and unlike the liver, which is not needed to keep people alive, so this will be a long road to a useful future for patients in need of ear transplants.
"But it's more realistic if you have ears," said Adam Feinberg, a professor of biomedical engineering and materials science and engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.
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