In July 2018, a discovery was made of the first human ear surgery. The skull was pieced together and found in northern Spain, showing signs of a simple operation on one of its ears. This was the oldest example of this type of ear surgery, proving that these complicated operations were practiced before the first documentation.
The first human ear surgery
The skull was discovered in northern Spain and belonged to a woman who lived around 5,300 years ago somewhere in a neolithic site called “Dolmen of El Pendon.” The study also shows that she was about 35 to 50 when her ear surgery was done.
Near Burgos, Spain, is the dig site for the Dolmen of El Pendónis. Previous studies have revealed that the location was formerly used as a funeral chamber by prehistoric people. According to earlier studies, the site was occupied for about 800 years, from around 3,800 B.C. to 3,000 B.C.
The researchers concluded that it was a surgery due to the markings at the sides of her skull. Markings that indicate incisions into the woman’s mastoid bones, found behind the ears, are apparent. Additionally, these mastoid bones could cause ear surgery by becoming a middle ear infection.
Although there was no actual proof of what illness the woman bore, two uneducated surgeries must have meant that it was severe.
The first mastoidectomy
The treatment is carried out to clear the diseased area behind the ear. In certain circumstances, failing to address the issue can result in deafness, while in others, persistent infections can cause more severe cases, including death. Generally, it was required on both ears of the patient.
Her illness must have been nasty for her to be willing to have what must have been an excruciating surgery. So it is assumed that she felt enough pain to consent. According to further examination of the skull, she had many missing teeth, which indicated that she was quite elderly at the time. The researchers also discovered expanded auditory canals, probably caused by the operation.
How the operation occurred
After the first surgery, her left ear would have undergone an operation; however, it is impossible to tell whether they were carried out simultaneously or after several months or perhaps years. As a result, it is the first known instance of surgery on both temporal bones, possibly the first documented radical mastoidectomy in all humanity.
According to the research’s premise, the person whose skull was found had likely had both ears surgically repaired, with an unknown amount of time passing between the two procedures.
The disparities in bone formation between the two sides of her skull indicate that the doctors initially did the surgery on the right ear. This might have been because the condition of that ear was alarming enough to call for ear surgery.
Ear surgery facts
How many ear surgeries are there?
Four already existing ear surgeries are available, which are undergone to fix several specific parts of the ears, such as the eardrums and middle ear bones. Generally, these surgeries include myringoplasty, ossiculoplasty, tympanoplasty, and mastoidectomy.
What are common ear surgeries?
Common ear surgeries include cochlear implants, laser stapedectomy, pressure equalization tubes, implantable hearing aids, and ossiculoplasty.
How long does it take to recover from ear surgery?
Ear surgery recovery usually takes a short amount of time to see results. Generally, common ear inflammations heal in about one to two months, but complete recovery could take up to a year.
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