Repairing Ear Amputations from a Variety of Causes
The ears are often overlooked as a source of injury and a location for surgery. However, they are exposed on the side of the skull and vulnerable to such events. When someone does have ear surgery, it is important to address the issues of both functionality and appearance.Most people visit the doctor for problems with their ears typically due to ear infections or increased wax production, making it hard to hear. People who have repeated ear infections may need to have ear tubes placed. This is a common surgery performed by Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) specialists who place tubes in the eardrum. These tubes help drain the fluid that builds up behind the eardrum. When this fluid builds up, the eardrum can start to bulge, leading to a significant amount of pain for the patient. The tubes also help get rid of the infection that is bothering the patient. While this is a common surgery, there are also more severe injuries that can happen. People can sustain significant lacerations to their ear, requiring multiple stitches. These injuries may even compromise the patient's ability to hear. Even worse, some patients could have their ears amputated in a serious traumatic injury that could be accompanied by bone fractures of the small bones in the ear, such as the malleus, incus, and stapes. If this catastrophic personal injury happens, patients will need to have the outer part of their ear, known as the auricle, re-attached to the side of their head.
Case Reports of Ear Amputation and Repair
A series of case reports were recently published by a medical group of ENT professionals. In recent decades, people who have had their auricles amputated in traumatic accidents, such as auto accidents, have needed to visit a plastic surgeon for a trip to the operating room. These case reports discuss patients who had their auricles amputated but were able to have them re-attached by an ENT doctor, sometimes in a clinic.Motorcycle Injuries: The first patient suffered a serious motorcycle accident when his bike slid out from under him as he was taking a sharp curve. Unfortunately, he wasn't wearing a helmet, exposing him to a potentially serious traumatic brain injury. However, he also lost his auricle to the pavement. Fortunately, he was able to visit an ENT doctor who could re-attach his ear using reconstructive surgery.
Human Bites: One of the most common ways that people have their auricles amputated is through a human bite. The human mouth is a dirty place and these wounds are prone to infection. This patient required debridement of the wound and treatment with antibiotics. However, his ear was also successfully reattached.
Assault: People can also suffer serious ear injuries during an assault. The third case in the research paper talked about someone who lost his ear to a machete. This is a sharp blade that can cause multiple, serious injuries, particularly to internal organs. This person had his ear sliced off by this blade. Luckily for him, it could be saved and sewn back onto his skull.
Legal Issues of Amputation Injuries
While this paper discusses the issue of ear amputations, there are numerous body parts that someone could lose in an amputation injury. For example, someone could have a body part amputated at work. Those who work with heavy equipment must make sure that the equipment that they're using has been properly maintained and that they have been trained to use the machine safely. This is the responsibility of the owner, manager, and company to make sure that their employees are kept safe. Those who purchase products from a store should expect that their items have been properly safety tested. If the item malfunctions and someone is hurt in the process, this is the responsibility of the company who manufactured and failed to properly safety-test the item. When these circumstances arise, it is important for the injured party to make sure that the company is held responsible.Image Attribution: The image at the top was taken from Wikimedia Commons and is part of the public domain.
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