Sculptor gives one-eared boy a new prosthetic ear

Estonian sculptor Viktor Kiss has created a prosthetic ear for Nikita, a boy born with only one ear, ERR’s programme Ringvaade reported.

Nikita’s mother, Larissa Udovitskaja, said her son often wore a hood because people stared at him. He can now play football without covering his head and feels like any other boy.

“Before, everyone stared, but now nobody looks. Sometimes children would ask why he did not have an ear,” Udovitskaja said.

Kiss, who graduated from the Pallas Art School this spring, said the project began with his idea to create prostheses. He has a medical background as well as training as a sculptor.

“I suddenly had a clear vision that I wanted to make epitheses. I went to Tartu University Hospital, where it became clear that this practice was completely lacking in Estonia. There is a clinical need, and there would immediately be a patient,” Kiss said.

The work required dozens of meetings because Nikita also has facial asymmetry, his mother said.

Raiko Tiganik, a doctor at Tartu University Hospital’s ear clinic, said the first stage involved placing an implant in the temporal bone. After the implant heals and the body accepts the foreign material, a second procedure takes place three to six months later. The skin is connected and posts are fitted through it, allowing the prosthetic outer ear to be attached.

“The happiest moment was when Nikita saw the ear in the mirror. He came to us and said thank you,” Kiss said.

Tiganik estimated that one or two people are born in Estonia each year who would need such a prosthesis.

Kiss is already working on another project for a girl who was born prematurely and is missing part of her nose. He said they hope she will be able to go to school with a new nose on September 1.

Kiss made Nikita’s ear while he was still at art school, but no longer has access to the same facilities after graduating. He is now working to establish Estonia’s first epithesis laboratory.

“I am trying to earn enough through my art so that we can set up the laboratory and continue helping people,” Kiss said, adding that several people have already contacted him.

Nikita will need another ear in the future because he is growing quickly. Kiss said he is collecting feedback from the boy and will see whether the prosthesis needs to be remade.

Udovitskaja said the ear must be washed and cleaned every day, making its care part of their evening routine. Sometimes, she added, Nikita even forgets to take it off.