Breakthrough procedure could fix cauliflower ears without surgery

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A wrestler with Cauliflower ear.
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Good news for MMA fighters, boxers, and rugby players around the world: There may now a cure for your cauliflower ears.

Until now, many people involved in contact sports have developed large, misshapen ears called “cauliflower ears” caused by repetitive blunt force trauma — but Chinese scientists have developed a new tissue sculpting method that creates supportive tissues that are shaped like an ear, which will also fix defects, according to the Daily Mail.

Like a “South Park” episode, the “bioink” technique has been perfected on mice, which had been genetically grown to have abnormal ears — and it will eventually be used on humans to replace misshapen body parts without operations.

“The technology could be adapted for clinical use in humans. This would potentially enable many different types of minimally invasive or non-invasive reconstructive surgeries,” Professor Maling Gou of Sichuan University, who co-authored the study, told the Daily Mail. The breakthrough was first published in Science Advances.

The technique involves a digital micromirror device and bioink, which is made up of cartilage cells and different chemicals. It is injected at the back of the ear.

“After 20 seconds, the ear began to take form,” Gou said. “It may provide a surgery-free option for humans with this condition who often undergo surgical implantations at the risk of injury. More broadly, this 3D printing technique may open a new avenue for non-invasive medicine to address other conditions and reconstructive needs.”