Indian-origin doctor gives new ears to 8-yr old boy

An Indian-origin doctor in the US has recently performed a miraculous surgery to grow the outer ears of an 8-yr old boy

An Indian-origin doctor, Dr Ananth Murthy performed a rare surgery on an 8 yr old boy, Elijah Bell, a second-grade student at Frazer Elementary in Canton, Ohio; resulting in new ears for the boy. Dr Ananth Murthy is the director of plastic surgery at the hospital.

Bell was born with bilateral atresia microtia, a rare birth defect where the outer ears are undeveloped, and, in Elijah's case, had no openings to the middle and inner ear, as reported by IANS.

The outer ear portion of the boy was developed from his rib cartilage after a series of 'miraculous' surgeries. On July 28, Elijah completed a final round of surgeries at Akron Children's Hospital to craft a set of outer ears.

"We consider it to be a miracle in our family," said Colleen Bell, Elijah's mom.

"The changes we've seen in Elijah are really remarkable," Bell said, adding that her son has a new outlook on life.

Elijah's middle and inner ear developed normally, giving him the ability to hear. But the lack of an opening meant that sounds had trouble getting through. Elijah had to wear a bone-anchored hearing aid.

The procedure to grow outer ears required five surgeries, starting when Elijah was 4 years old. Along with harvesting cartilage to create the ears, Murthy had to use a skin graft from Elijah's thigh to create a gap between his ears and his head.

During the final surgery in July, Murthy gave Elijah's ears detailed "hills and valleys", CantonRep.Com reported.