by Dan Bloom

This schoolboy can finally lend an ear after doctors made him a new one – from one of his ribs.

Sean Wingrove-Smith looks like any other 10-year-old, but he has had months of surgery after he was born with part of his right ear missing.

He has Goldenhar Syndrome, which affects one in 25,000 babies and stops the ears, lips or nose developing in the womb.

Walderslade Primary School pupil Sean, of Merivale Grove, Walderslade, is thrilled after surgeons at Great Ormond Street Hospital fastened a new ear to his head.

He is still deaf in the ear, but it looks like any other – and he can finally wear his glasses, which used to sit lopsided before the procedure.

The computer games fan said: "The surgery didn't worry me, I just hate needles. It was fun when I came into school wearing a big white bandage and looking like a Smurf.

"The only thing I don't like about it is most people's ears are quite flappy, but mine isn't because they've had to make it rigid. Otherwise it's fine!"

Sean’s dad Steve Smith, 37, said: "Sean's had to have a number of operations which can be hard when you’re going through it. The hospital staff make it so much easier."

The tricky procedure, which was paid for on the NHS, began last December when surgeons harvested cartilage from his ribcage and carved it into the shape of an ear.

They grafted skin from his scalp and moulded it over the new ear, which healed before they cut the top part of the ear free from his head.

The ear took a year to heal, but it has boosted Sean's confidence. He recently gave a talk about his genetic disorder to younger pupils.

His mum Dee Wingrove-Smith, 38, said: "Whether to have cosmetic surgery on the NHS is something that's debated quite a lot. People say you should be happy the way you are.

"Sean was happy growing up, but people had begun making jokes at his expense. We wanted to let other children with the condition know they aren’t alone."