A woman born with a birth defect in one ear has become the first person in the world to receive a 3D-printed implant made from her own human cells.
The biotechnology company 3DBio Therapeutics, located in Queens, New York (United States) created the artificial ear that doctors later transplanted, according to the New York Times.
Doctors successfully transplanted a 3-D printed ear made of living human cells. The new ear, transplanted in March, will continue to regenerate cartilage tissue, giving it the look and feel of a natural ear, said the biotech company that made the implant. https://t.co/gCmmBnOsKF pic.twitter.com/DZbke2sNUN
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 2, 2022
The same media outlet clarified that the woman was born with microtia, a rare congenital defect that causes the auricle or external ear to be small and malformed, which can affect hearing.
Specialists stressed that the operation, part of the first clinical experimentation with this technology, was an “extraordinary progress” in the field of tissue engineering, according to the ANSA news agency.
The new ear was transplanted in March and molded with the same shape that corresponds to that woman’s left organ. The company clarified that it will now continue to regenerate cartilage tissue to give it the look and feel of a natural ear.
“It’s definitely a big deal,” said Adam Feinberg, a professor of biomedical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, noting, “This shows that this technology is no longer an ‘if,’ but a ‘when.'”
Meanwhile, the clinical trial, which will be performed on 11 patients, is still ongoing and the transplants may lead to unforeseen health problems. But since the cells come from the same tissue as the patient, the company said it’s “likely” the new organ won’t be rejected by the body.
3D noses?
Biotech company 3DBio Therapeutics says the same technology could be used to replace other parts of the human body such as spinal discs, nose, knee menisci, rotator cuffs and reconstructive tissue for lumpectomy.
“It’s so exciting, sometimes I have to moderate myself a bit,” said Arturo Bonilla, a reconstructive surgeon who performed the implant operation, predicting: “If everything goes according to plan, this result will revolutionize the world.”