Children’s of Mississippi plastic surgeons rebuild ear after injury

Children's of Mississippi plastic surgeons rebuild ear after injury

Published on Monday, November 18, 2024

By: Annie Oeth, [email protected]

Photos By: Melanie Thortis/ UMMC Communications

Mila Medders' bright eyes and sweet smile are the first things people notice about the 14-month-old, not an ear injury, thanks to a series of plastic surgeries at Children's of Mississippi.

After an accidental burn injured her right ear in late 2023, then-3-month-old Mila needed ear reconstruction. Mila's ear was rebuilt through a series of six surgeries at the Stephanie and Mitchell Morris Center for Cleft and Cranial Research and Innovation.

"The first several surgeries were to clean up the dead tissue and make sure that she did not get an infection," said Dr. Ian Hoppe, associate professor of plastic surgery and leader of the cleft and craniofacial teams at Children's of Mississippi. "The first big surgery was the coverage of the ear cartilage framework with the temporoparietal fascia (TPF) flap. As far as we can tell, no one was reported using the TPF flap in someone as young as Mila for any reason, let alone ear reconstruction."

Based on medical literature, it is thought that the youngest patient to have the TPF flap procedure was 3 years old. Dr. Katie Brown, a pediatric plastic surgery resident, is documenting the case for possible publication in medical journals.

"I saw Mila in the ER right when she got there after the accident," Brown said. "It was a scary day, and as a new mama myself, I knew that her family had to be so worried."

The care team had questions about surgery at Mila's age.

"We were unsure if the cartilage structures were going to be big enough to use at this age," Hoppe said. "We were pleasantly surprised at how robust the structures were and how effectively they could be used."

Waiting to do the surgery later, when Mila was older, wasn't possible. "If we did not do the TPF flap at the time we did, the ear would have had to be discarded. To save the ear, we needed to have the cartilage covered quickly or else it likely would have gotten infected or necrose," Hoppe said.

After the TPF flap procedure, Mila's next big surgery was reconstruction of the top portion of her ear with a rib cartilage graft, Hoppe said. "The last surgery was lifting the ear up from the side of her head to allow it to project like a normal ear."

Mila's mother, Britt Medders of Brandon, is thankful Mila has fully recovered.

"Our Children's of Mississippi care has been phenomenal," she said. "She's grown up here over the last year. We've celebrated rolling over, crawling, the coveted first steps and now our first words with Dr. Hoppe and his team on the journey to Mila's new ear. What they were able to create is nothing short of miraculous, and we are forever thankful to Dr. Hoppe, Dr. Brown, Leila Lanning, the plastics residents and interns and everyone in between who had a hand in her care. I don't know what we would have done if the children's hospital wasn't here, and I'll never stop telling everyone how they turned our tragedy into something really inspiring and beautiful."

The Children's of Mississippi plastic surgery team has enjoyed seeing Mila through the treatment process. "Mila is always very happy and bubbly and has undergone her multiple surgeries seamlessly," Hoppe said. "She started pointing to her new ear several months ago and recognizes it as her own ear."

Brown said caring for Mila was special.

"It was an honor to be there to be able to take care of Mila alongside Dr. Hoppe and be able to reassure her family that we were going to take the best care of her and use every tool in our wheelhouse to save her ear," she said. "It's been such a sweet year seeing her grow up."