This process was performed as part of a clinical trial to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of this implant for people with small ears who have not properly formed their outer ear.
The implant, called Orinovo, was invented by 3D Bio Therapeutics and performed by Arturo Bonilla, founder of an institute that specializes in treating this deformity in San Antonio, Texas, USA.
The operation is done by making a 3D impression on the patient’s other fully developing ear and then harvesting cartilage cells from that ear.
These cartilages are cultivated to get enough of them and then mixed with collagen hydrogel. This mixture is used to print the implant.
The implant is surrounded by a biodegradable printed shell that supports it, and it is absorbed by the patient’s body over time.
The implanted ear should, over time, provide the look, feel and flexibility of a natural ear.
The total number of patients expected to be included in the clinical trial is 11 in California and Texas.
Dr. hopes. Bonya that one day the implant will replace the current treatments that create the prosthesis by removing cartilage from a rib or a material called porous polyethylene.
The company indicates that approximately 1,500 children in the U.S. suffer from deafness each year.
These children can live normally if they do not have other health problems, but some of them may be negatively affected by others ’perceptions of this deformity.
Factors that may increase the risk of developing ear malformation include maternal diabetes or a diet deficient in carbohydrates and folic acid.
3D Bio hopes to create implants for more serious micro-ears in the future.
3D implants can also be used for other conditions that affect cartilage, including defects or injuries to the nose, breast reconstruction, or damage to the knee meniscus.
Source: Al-Akhbar
