9-year-old boy born without an ear gets a new one made from his ribs

Will Fenton shown without a right ear as a baby

Will Fenton,9, of Broxbourne, Herts, was born with his hearing almost fully intact but his right ear missing and has kept his hair long to cover it up. But now the youngster is looking forward to a short hairstyle like brothers Ned, seven, and five-year-old Rory after a surgeon at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital recreated his ear with a piece of cartilage from his rib. Plastic surgeon Neil Bulstrode also cleverly hid an extra piece of cartilage in the skin behind Will's new ear and in January it will be inserted behind the organ to take if further away from his head.
Delighted mum Nicola, 41, said: "Will can't wait to get to the barbers now.
"He's a little boy who takes everything in his stride so his missing ear never bothered him much but he did like to keep his hair over it.

9-year-old Will proudly showing off his new ear

"He wasn't sure about the operation when I first mentioned it to him but I was concerned that he might get bullied once he went to secondary so convinced him and he was thrilled afterwards."
Will was born with a congenital condition called microtia which results in one or both ears being completely missing or smaller than normal and affects one in 6,000 kids. There are no known causes, although one theory suggests a decreased blood supply to the organ in the womb, reports the Mirror.
Nicola, a radiographer, said: "When he was born you couldn't miss the fact Will's ear was mostly missing and it was heartbreaking as a new mum, but he also had a hole in the heart so I was more panicky about that. Luckily, the hole repaired itself in the first couple of years.
"He's fortunate to be able to hear, although he struggles a little if I'm shouting from a different room in the house and can't tell which direction I'm coming from.