Doctors have restored the ear of a bite victim following three months of reconstructive surgeries, the Ministry of Health and Welfare Changhua Hospital said on Tuesday.
A woman surnamed Lin (林), 30, was bitten by a neighbor who is believed to be mentally disturbed and lost one-third of her left ear, Sanlih E-Television quoted Changhua Hospital cosmetic surgeon Lu Ming-chuan (呂明川) as saying.
The missing part of Lin’s ear was not recovered in the aftermath of the attack and the hospital that initially treated Lin did not take any action other than disinfecting the wound, Lu said.
Lin later visited Changhua Hospital for reconstructive surgery and told doctors that she was profoundly unhappy with her appearance and other symptoms of psychological trauma, he said.
As part of the ear was lost, the medical team had to forgo reattachment microsurgery and instead opted to reconstruct the ear, which is a rare procedure, he added.
The process involved taking cartilage tissue from the patient’s intact ear and grafting it under the scalp, Lu said.
After skin grew around the grafted cartilage, which took about a month, doctors surgically removed the tissue from the scalp, he said.
They then shaped the cartilage in the likeness of the missing portion of Lin’s ear attached the tissue to the stump of her ear, Lu said.
The medical team has confirmed the procedure’s success after Lin’s most recent appointment, Lu said, adding that Lin reported some numbness, but tactile senses would return after the nerves reattach themselves in about a year.
“Cases of ear severance are not common and most of them happen because of accidents,” he said. “People who lose an ear or have other kinds of disfigurement often suffer from depression.”
Seeking help from a cosmetic surgeon as soon as possible can alleviate some of the psychological distress caused by such injuries, Lu said.
Separately, the hospital’s chief of psychiatry Liang Sun-yuan (梁孫源) said that feeling fear or anxiety two months after a distressing event is a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder and people with the condition should seek psychiatric help.
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