A 12-year-old girl whose ear was gnawed off by a raccoon is one step closer to her dream of wearing two earrings.
Michigan's Charlotte Ponce was just three-months-old in 2002 when the pet crawled into her crib and chewed off her ear, nose and part of her lip.
Now after revolutionary surgery, doctors have attached a new ear which they grew on her arm.
On April 15, surgeons at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan spent seven hours embedding lung cartilage, shaped into an ear lobe, into Charlotte's arm where it grew for months.
Dr. Kongkrit Chiayasate was the plastic surgeon who attached the man-made ear yesterday.
He told ABC News Charlotte was doing well and recovering in the intensive care unit.
'First time we met her, she never made any eye contact, did not talk at all,' Chiayasate, who repaired Charlotte's nose two years ago, said. 'In the past two years, she’s transformed. She’s got more confidence.'
A 12-year-old girl who was mauled by a raccoon as a baby is back at home after successfully undergoing surgery to create a new ear.
Before the complex procedure, which has only been performed twice before, Dr Chiayasate said he practiced on a potato.
He told WBIV: 'As plastic surgeons we need to think outside the box a little bit - what can we do to make a life long reconstruction for her. 'I've been practicing carving potato last weekend using this as a template. It's not easy.'
Young Charlotte has undergone at least 10 operations since 2012 to restore her face.
'The raccoon pretty much ate the right side of her face, all the way back to the ear,' Charlotte’s adoptive mom Sharon Ponce told ABCNews.com. 'Now, all she wants is to wear two earrings.'
Charlotte was just a newborn when her 18-year-old mother and 23-year-old father left her home alone with the pet.
The raccoon was thought to have escaped from its cage after a door was left open when food had been dropped in, and no one was there to save the baby when she was attacked.
Her great-aunt Sharon and great-uncle Tim only found out about the attack with horror when they watched that night's news bulletin.
They gained custody of Charlotte and her brother Marshall, who was then 15-months-old, and they and their friends raised more than $10,000 to help pay for her trips in and out of hospital.
Sharon had to quit her job at a daycare center to look after Charlotte after doctors said she would need full time care.
Charlotte previously had a prosthetic ear fitted but it was not an ideal solution and soon became infected and uncomfortable.
Yet despite the enormous damage, there is one miracle. Even before the extensive surgery which will grant her a new quality of life, Charlotte's hearing has been largely unaffected.
Michigan's Charlotte Ponce was just three-months-old in 2002 when the pet crawled into her crib and chewed off her ear, nose and part of her lip.
Now after revolutionary surgery, doctors have attached a new ear which they grew on her arm.
On April 15, surgeons at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan spent seven hours embedding lung cartilage, shaped into an ear lobe, into Charlotte's arm where it grew for months.
Dr. Kongkrit Chiayasate was the plastic surgeon who attached the man-made ear yesterday.
He told ABC News Charlotte was doing well and recovering in the intensive care unit.
'First time we met her, she never made any eye contact, did not talk at all,' Chiayasate, who repaired Charlotte's nose two years ago, said. 'In the past two years, she’s transformed. She’s got more confidence.'
A 12-year-old girl who was mauled by a raccoon as a baby is back at home after successfully undergoing surgery to create a new ear.
Before the complex procedure, which has only been performed twice before, Dr Chiayasate said he practiced on a potato.
He told WBIV: 'As plastic surgeons we need to think outside the box a little bit - what can we do to make a life long reconstruction for her. 'I've been practicing carving potato last weekend using this as a template. It's not easy.'
Young Charlotte has undergone at least 10 operations since 2012 to restore her face.
'The raccoon pretty much ate the right side of her face, all the way back to the ear,' Charlotte’s adoptive mom Sharon Ponce told ABCNews.com. 'Now, all she wants is to wear two earrings.'
Charlotte was just a newborn when her 18-year-old mother and 23-year-old father left her home alone with the pet.
The raccoon was thought to have escaped from its cage after a door was left open when food had been dropped in, and no one was there to save the baby when she was attacked.
Her great-aunt Sharon and great-uncle Tim only found out about the attack with horror when they watched that night's news bulletin.
They gained custody of Charlotte and her brother Marshall, who was then 15-months-old, and they and their friends raised more than $10,000 to help pay for her trips in and out of hospital.
Sharon had to quit her job at a daycare center to look after Charlotte after doctors said she would need full time care.
Charlotte previously had a prosthetic ear fitted but it was not an ideal solution and soon became infected and uncomfortable.
Yet despite the enormous damage, there is one miracle. Even before the extensive surgery which will grant her a new quality of life, Charlotte's hearing has been largely unaffected.
Source : DailyMail , ABC
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