Beijing doctors remove dandelion growing in baby's ear

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2013-11-30

A photo of the dandelion found growing in the girl's ear.
(Internet Photo)

Doctors in Beijing's Tongzhou district have successfully removed a dandelion flower from the ear of a one-year-old baby girl. The flower was first discovered by the girl's mother after the baby had cried over an itchy ear, reports the state-run news agency Xinhua.

The girl, Ranran, is currently recovery from the surgery on Nov. 25. Her doctors said that the flower growing inside her left ear, which was about 2 cm long, could have led to serious issues if left untreated and could even have begun to grow into the brain stem.

Ranran's mother said "When she started scratching her ear, I checked and saw something but could not get it out." She told doctors that a seed had accidentally found its way into Ranran's left ear four months earlier.

The extremely rare case surprised doctors and nurses, who clarified that the flower was able to blossom in the warm and humid ear canal wall.