New Ear Grown On Soldier's Forearm For Transplant, First For US Army

A soldier received a successful ear transplant with a brand new ear that was "grown" in her arm, the United States Army said in a statement Wednesday. The first of its kind operation in the army, physicians at a medical facility in Texas were able to craft the new ear for Pvt. Shamika Burrage, 21.

The rare and revolutionary procedure was done by using cartilage from the soldier's rib cage, which was inserted beneath the skin on her arm in order to develop new blood vessels. This process is called neovascularization, an article by the U.S. Army stated, detailing the total ear reconstruction. The transplant was conducted at William Beaumont Army Medical Center (WBAMC).

"The whole goal is by the time she's done with all this, it looks good, it's sensate, and in five years if somebody doesn't know her they won't notice," said Lt. Col. Owen Johnson III, chief, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, WBAMC. "As a young active-duty Soldier, they deserve the best reconstruction they can get."

"(The ear) will have fresh arteries fresh veins and even a fresh nerve so she'll be able to feel it," he added.

Burrage was involved in an accident two years ago when her tire blew and her car veered off the road. She suffered serious injuries, including wounds to the head, spinal fractures, road rash and the loss of her left ear.

"I was coming back from leave and we were around Odessa, Texas," Burrage said about the accident. "We were driving and my front tire blew, which sent the car off road and I hit the brake. I remember looking at my cousin who was in the passenger seat, I looked back at the road as I hit the brakes. I just remember the first flip and that was it."

Burrage said she had been in rehabilitation for several months, following which she began to seek counseling due to emotional stress caused by the accident. When Burrage was told about the reconstruction, she was shocked and initially resistant to go through the procedure.

"I didn't want to do (the reconstruction) but gave it some thought and came to the conclusion that it could be a good thing. I was going to go with the prosthetic, to avoid more scarring but I wanted a real ear," Burrage, 21, said. "I was just scared at first but wanted to see what he could do."

But since her surgery, Burrage has been confident and looking forward to what’s to come.

"It's been a long process for everything, but I'm back," Burrage said.