Archive · 30 Dec 2025
Chinese Doctors Reattach Woman's Ear After Keeping It Alive on Foot
A woman named Sun had a very bad accident at work that cut off her ear and hurt her head and face badly.
Doctors in China had to do something very smart to save her ear.
They put the ear on her foot and kept it alive there for five months.
They did this because the foot's blood vessels and skin were similar to those on the head.
After the ear was safe on her foot, they fixed her head with skin from her tummy.
Then, they moved the ear back to her head.
It took many surgeries and a lot of care, but in the end, the ear looks and works like it should.
Sun is now out of the hospital and will have a few more small surgeries to make everything look even better.
A woman's severed ear was kept alive on her foot for five months before being reattached to her head.
The initial grafting operation took 10 hours and involved reconnecting very fine blood vessels.
Doctors faced a complication with blood flow, requiring 500 manual bloodletting procedures over five days.
The final reattachment surgery was successful, and the ear has regained its natural shape and color.
The patient has been discharged and will undergo minor follow-up procedures for cosmetic improvements.
- Who
- A woman identified by her surname Sun
- What
- Doctors kept her severed ear alive on her foot and later reattached it to her head
- When
- Initial accident in April, final reattachment in October 2025
- Where
- Shandong Provincial Hospital in Jinan, China
- Why
- Extensive vascular damage made immediate reattachment impossible, requiring innovative preservation method
- Patient
- Sun (surname only)
- Location
- Shandong Provincial Hospital, Jinan, China
- Initial Surgery Duration
- 10 hours
- Final Reattachment Surgery Duration
- 6 hours
- Time Between Surgeries
- 5 months
- Complication
- Venous reflux causing purplish-black discoloration
- Treatment for Complication
- Manual bloodletting around 500 times over 5 days
- Current Status
- Patient discharged, minor follow-up procedures planned