Doctors at the Meyer hospital in the Italian city of Florence turned to 3D printing to create an ear for a teenager who was born without her, according to a press release released by the health center. The 13-year-old patient suffers from bilateral microtia, a rare congenital deformity of the outer ear, which affects 5 in 10,000 children.

Using 3D models, printed in 3D, plastic surgeons managed to create an ear based on the costal cartilage. To define the natural shape of the child's ear, one of his mother was taken as a model. Since the operation was successful, reconstruction of the second ear is planned in the coming months.