Sam Badmaeva via Unsplash
In a medical story that has to be seen to be believed, a Chinese woman whose ear was torn off in an industrial accident had it grafted onto her foot as a way of keeping it viable for later transfer back to her head.
And that’s exactly what happened, 5 months after doctors at a Shandong hospital determined that blood vessels and nerves at the sight of the injury were too damaged for immediate reattachment.
自身の耳を足に移植して保存し、再び耳に戻す手術に成功（中国）https://t.co/HYYeUhj1Dc
中国で頭に大ケガを負った女性が、自身の耳を足に移植して保存するという手術を受けた。血流を確保し、5か月間足の甲で生かされ続けていた耳は、頭部の傷が癒えた時点で… pic.twitter.com/n5fRcNOoLF
— カラパイア (@karapaia) December 23, 2025
In a process called “heterotopic survival,” which involves grafting severed body parts onto different regions in order to ensure blood flow and tissue repair, the ear of 30-year-old Ms. Sun was attached to the top of her foot.
As it turns out, the tops of our feet and the sites of our ears share similar properties of skin thinness, stable blood circulation, and blood vessel size. After a brief fear of necrosis, the ear gradually regained its color.
Incredibly, Sun carried on for 5 months wearing a shoe several sizes too big to protect her ear until October came around and the woman’s surgical team determined it was time to undertake the complex procedure of reconnecting damaged blood vessels and nerves.
But all went well, and Sun is now recovering.
Experts told The Mirror that when immediate reattachment of severed tissue is not feasible, ensuring blood flow through heterotopic survival is critical for delicate structures like ears.
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