Chinese surgeons save severed ear by temporarily attaching it to patient's foot

BEIJING (Web Desk) - In a remarkable display of medical innovation, surgeons in eastern China successfully saved a factory worker’s severed ear by temporarily attaching it to her foot, following a devastating workplace accident.

According to media reports, the woman, identified only by her surname Sun, suffered severe injuries around five months ago while working at a factory in the city of Jinan.

During her shift, her hair became caught in industrial machinery, tearing skin from her scalp and neck and completely ripping off her left ear.

She was immediately rushed to hospital, but doctors found that standard ear reattachment surgery was not possible.

The blood vessels around the ear had been extensively damaged, making direct replantation too risky.

Leading the medical team, Dr Qiu Shenqiang explained that to preserve the ear, doctors turned to a rare microsurgical method known as heterotopic grafting.

Using this technique, the surgeons temporarily attached the detached ear to the front of the patient’s right foot, an area with thinner skin and suitable blood vessels to sustain blood flow and keep the tissue alive.

During the recovery period, the patient was advised to take strict precautions, including wearing loose footwear and avoiding physical exertion, to protect the fragile graft.

While heterotopic grafting is known in reconstructive microsurgery, its use for ear preservation is considered highly uncommon.

After five months of careful monitoring — a phase doctors described as “parasitic growth” — surgeons at Shandong Qianfoshan Hospital were finally able to transplant the ear back to its original position on the woman’s head.

Reports say the patient became emotional when her stitches were removed, expressing deep gratitude to the medical team for their dedication and meticulous care, marking the procedure as a rare success story in modern reconstructive surgery.