When Danny was born, his parents, Jacque and Dan, received some distressing news: “Within a couple minutes of them evaluating him,” Dan recalls, “we were told, ‘He has a birth defect, and we need to check his heart.’ Our world turned upside down.” Danny had no external ear canal on his right side, and that ear was small — a condition called microtia. But by the time he was 5 years old, all the issues with his right ear were fixed — thanks to remarkable procedures performed at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).

“We didn’t want his disability to define his life,” Dan says of his son. “Soon after he was born, Jacque took the mantle of assembling a team to find out the extent of what he had going on, and how to get him the best result.” Their first step was consulting with Kristine A. Herrell, MD, their pediatrician at CHOP’s Primary Care location in Haverford, Pa., who connected them with the two surgeons who would change Danny’s life: Jordan Swanson, MD, MSc, an attending surgeon in CHOP’s Division of Plastic, Reconstructive and Oral Surgery, and John A. Germiller, MD, PhD, an attending surgeon and Director of Clinical Research in CHOP’s Division of Otolaryngology (ear/nose/throat). Both doctors have expertise in ear disorders and reconstruction.

From age 2 to 4, Danny wore a hearing aid. Jacque and Dan’s early discussions with Dr. Swanson centered around waiting until Danny was 9 or 10, at which time Dr. Swanson would take a piece of rib cartilage and form that into an ear. 

Technological advances completely changed the plan. 

A 3D replica of Danny’s left ear

A new plan was formulated based on laser scans and 3D printing. Dr. Swanson worked with a biomedical engineer at the company that makes Su-Por Surgical Implants, which are made from a highly porous polyethylene material. Using a 3D reproduction of Danny’s unaffected left ear, they created a custom-made implant for Danny’s right ear. 

“The result would be similar as the rib cartilage graft, but much less invasive,” Jacque explains. And Danny wouldn’t have to wait several years — he could get a new ear when he was just 5 years old. 

The first step was to restore hearing in the ear. In March 2023, Dr. Germiller performed a procedure to create Danny’s ear canal and graft skin from his functional left ear. About five months later, Dr. Germiller reset the tiny bones within Danny’s ear and put in a new ear drum. After allowing for the canal to heal, Danny could now hear out of his right ear.

Danny then underwent another procedure in which Dr. Swanson combined the specially designed Su-Por implant with a flap of scalp tissue, bringing blood supply to the implant. 

“The recovery was incredibly quick,” says Jacque. “Danny’s resilient. We had to keep him from rolling around and bumping the new ear. That was the hardest part.” Danny needed to wear a headband covering the surgical site for a few weeks

“We were incredibly fortunate to live less than 25 miles from CHOP and to have chosen CHOP for all of Danny’s procedures,” Dan adds. “After his reconstructive ear surgery, complications arose, but thanks to Jacque, Dr. Swanson and his team, they were quickly identified and repaired right in the office under local anesthesia. If we had gone anywhere else, we might not have been so lucky!”

A key element: CHOP coordination of care

“We wanted him to enter kindergarten with no one knowing what he had gone through,” Dan says. And that turned out to be the case: “None of his teachers knows he had a hearing problem unless we tell them.”

Today, Danny loves playing soccer, air hockey, Pokemon and video games. He wants to be an example to other kids who must undergo medical procedures, starting with his two younger siblings. He helped them when they were facing doctor’s appointments, vaccinations and hearing tests.

Jacque and Dan emphasize how CHOP helped them navigate all the visits with specialists, the insurance, the medications and more. “Everyone talked to one another,” says Dan. “Often people with this condition of microtia, they go to different surgeons in different places for each procedure. For CHOP to be able to offer all of it together, and for Dr. Swanson and Dr. Germiller to be able to talk to each other about Danny — that is just unheard-of. It gave us a feeling of security as young parents. That coordination of care is something that CHOP was able to offer that no one else could even come close to.”