Boy without ears has pair created from his own ribs

A 9-year-old boy from the U.K. born without ears has had a pair created using cartilage from his own ribs, the U.K. Mirror reported.

Kieran Sorkin was born deaf with a congenital deformity called bilateral microtia – a condition in which the external ear never fully develops – leaving him with just a small set of ear lobes.

In a six hour operation at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), doctors took cartilage from Kieran’s ribs to make a set of ears and grafted them to his head, the website reported.

Kieran had undergone prior procedures to place hearing aids inside his ears, which have gradually helped increase his ability to hear over the years.

But despite those improvements, Kieran’s dad said his son still struggled at school because he looked different from other kids.

"It's been heart-wrenching for us and we've had the moral dilemma all along of whether it's right to change the features that Kieran was born with,” said David Sorkin. "But Kieran has talked about having ear surgery ever since the age of six when he saw a TV program about it. This will boost his confidence [to] no end."

According to the Mirror, Kieran had always wished for big ears and was excited that now he would finally have them. His parents said they are very happy with the results.

"They look like normal ears, he had nothing but has got proper sized ears now and they cover the gap where ears should have been,” said David. "We're absolutely on cloud nine. We could not have wished for a better result."

Click here for more from the UK Mirror.