Schoolgirl has new ear made from ribcage

A schoolgirl has become the first person in Britain to have a new ear constructed from part of her ribcage.

Nine-year-old Emma Bayliss was born with part of her ear missing and underwent pioneering reconstructive surgery.

Surgeons took cartilage from her ribcage and moulded it to a frame which they attached to her head, before covering it with skin.

Emma, of Kilburn, north-west London said: "I used to get teased at school but now I don't - and it feels great.

"I was born with part of my ear missing and part of it tucked over it like an envelope. I feel a lot happier with my ear now."

Her mum, Jacki, said her daughter had been very self-conscious about her ear and always tried to cover it up with her hair.

She said she was "thrilled" with the results and added: "It has undoubtedly changed her life".

The operation, performed at Mount Vernon Hospital in Northwood, Middlesex, took five hours.

Surgeon David Gault moulded the new ear out of costal cartilage, which joins the ribs to the breastbone.