Successful replantation of an amputated earlobe by microvascular anastomosis
Case report published in J Craniofac Surg (2009)
Abstract
In the microsurgical area, replantation of ear amputation by microvascular anastomosis is considered to be the best method in terms of texture, color, and shape. Only a few cases of successful ear replantation with microvascular anastomosis have been reported because the size of the vessels is very small, and identifying appropriate vessels for anastomosis is difficult. Furthermore, most cases were total or subtotal (upper two thirds of the ear) amputations, and they were successfully reconstructed by replantation.To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of a patient with ear lobe avulsion who underwent successful replantation by single arterial anastomosis. We report our case with a brief review of the literature.
Abstract sourced from PubMed (NCBI) for the cited record. See the original publication for the authoritative version.
Summary
Adult female with avulsed earlobe underwent successful microvascular replantation by single arterial anastomosis with leech therapy and heparin anticoagulation.
Why This Matters for Hirudotherapy
This case report documents what the authors describe as the first successful replantation of an avulsed ear lobe using a single arterial microvascular anastomosis, framed against the rarity and technical difficulty of ear replantation given the very small vessel size. The abstract itself makes no mention of medicinal leeches or hirudotherapy, so its relevance is only contextual: ear and digit replantations are the classic surgical settings where leech therapy is sometimes used to manage post-replant venous congestion, but this specific abstract does not report any leeching. Caveat: this is a single-case microvascular replantation report with no leech-therapy content in the abstract, so any hirudotherapy connection is inferential context rather than a finding from this paper, and expectations of direct relevance should be low.
Citation
Successful replantation of an amputated earlobe by microvascular anastomosis.
Jung SN et al. · The Journal of craniofacial surgery, 2009
Added to ASH library: May 27, 2026 · Site last updated: June 18, 2026