{"id":46318,"date":"2018-05-10T17:47:06","date_gmt":"2018-05-10T17:47:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/05\/10\/soldier-gets-new-ear-after-growing-it-on-her-arm\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:23:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:23:42","slug":"soldier-gets-new-ear-after-growing-it-on-her-arm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2018\/05\/10\/soldier-gets-new-ear-after-growing-it-on-her-arm\/","title":{"rendered":"Soldier gets new ear after growing it on her arm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Two years ago, a 19-year-old Army private lost her left ear in a car accident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, she has a new ear that was grown on her arm and successfully transplanted<\/a> onto her head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pvt. Shamika Burrage underwent the Army\u2019s first-of-its-kind total ear reconstruction at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in Texas<\/a>, according to a news release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Burrage, a supply clerk with 1st Battalion, 35th Armored Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, was driving to Fort Bliss<\/a> in 2016 after visiting family in Mississippi when her front tire blew out, causing the car to swerve off the road, skidding 700 feet before flipping multiple times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Burrage was ejected from the car and suffered head injuries, compression fractures in her spine, road rash and the total loss of her left ear, the release said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After several months of rehabilitation, Burrage sought counseling to deal with the emotional and physical trauma that resulted from the accident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t feel comfortable with the way I looked so the provider referred me to plastic surgery,\u201d Burrage said in the release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When doctors explained her options for reconstruction, Burrage was hesitant to commit to the total ear reconstruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want to do (the reconstruction) but gave it some thought and came to the conclusion that it could be a good thing. I was going to go with the prosthetic, to avoid more scarring but I wanted a real ear,\u201d she said. \u201cI was just scared at first but wanted to see what he could do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t