Doctors transplanted ear from human cell with 3D printer

A 20-year-old woman, who was born with a small and deformed right ear, got a new ear with a 3D-printed ear implant made from her own cells, TRT Haber reports.

The transplant, which is part of the first clinical trial of a successful medical application of this technology, is a dramatic advance in tissue engineering, independent experts said.

According to the news in the New York Times, pediatric ear reconstructive surgeon Dr. Arturo Bonilla removed half a gram of cartilage from the ear of a woman named Alexa and made a 3D scan of her healthy left ear, and sent this material to 3DBio Therapeutics, a company based in Queens, New York that specializes in regenerative medicine.

3DBio used the tissue sample to grow billions of cells and then mixed with the company's collagen-based ink, which was added to a custom 3D bioprinter to create a mirror copy of the patient's healthy ear.

It was announced that the whole process took less than 10 minutes.

The imprinted ear was then placed in cold storage under Alexa's skin, just above her jawbone. Sent to Bonilla.

The surgery took place in March. 3DBio says it will continue to regenerate cartilage tissue until the ear finally has a natural look and feel to the ear.