Born With One Functioning Ear, This 2-Year-Old Boy May Get A Life Changing 3D Surgical Ear Implant
Carmel, Indiana. Meet Bennett. Bennett looks different than your typical two ½-year-old rambunctious boys. But he’s not much different at all.
He has a craniofacial difference (abnormality of the face and or the head) from a Hemifacial Microsomia or (HFM), which is a condition you are born with where the tissue on one side of the face are underdeveloped.
More specifically, he has Microtia, where the ear does not develop properly, causing a child’s ear to be small, malformed, or missing.
Most people have never heard of Microtia. However, it affects about one in every 6,000 to 12,000 babies worldwide, with about 500 from the United States.
The condition is seen more frequently in boys than girls, and more than 90% of children with microtia have conductive hearing loss.
Bennett has one little ear and one big ear. He’s deaf on his left side but can hear just fine on the right.
He wears a hearing aid to help him locate the source of sounds. He is a prime candidate for Porous Implant Ear Reconstruction surgery.
Dr. Sheryl Lewin, a mother and Craniofacial trained, board-certified Plastic Surgeon, will perform the surgery.
GoFundMe; pictured above is Bennett
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She has a private practice, Lewin Ear Construction, and has been perfecting the art of ear reconstruction for years.
She used the 2-piece Medpor implant for over a decade until she completely redesigned the implant into a customized 1-piece Lewin Ear Implant, which matches the ear anatomy more closely, is physically more durable, and much more realistic than the 2-piece version.
Bennett qualifies for a 3D Lewin Ear Implant, which will match his natural ear in a mirror image. However, Bennett will require two separate surgeries.
The first to move his little ear to a more anatomically correct position and then the second to place the 3D ear implant.
Many kids have facial deformities and live completely everyday lives. According to lewinear.com, children become aware of their facial differences as early as two to three years of age.
In addition, several published studies have shown the impact of microtia on children, including increased difficulty in social integration and lack of self-confidence, mood disorders, interpersonal sensitivity, and depression and anxiety in both children and parents of children with microtia.
We all know kids are horrible to other kids, sometimes bullying and teasing at the slightest difference in someone’s appearance.
I hope Bennett gets the chance to experience life with as little worry as possible and keeps smiling for the world to see.
To help Bennett get his surgery, check out his GoFundMe here.
More About:Human Interest
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