An 18-year-old South Carolina woman underwent surgery to reattach her ears after her boyfriend allegedly sliced them off with a steak knife.
The woman, Ms April Abercrombie, was in good condition at Palmetto Richland Memorial Hospital, where she underwent the 3-1/2 hour reattachment surgery.
A hospital spokeswoman declined to comment on Abercrombie's prognosis but The Statenewspaper in Columbia quoted her surgeon, Dr Ram Kalus, as saying, "She looks terrific. She looks like she has two normal ears."
Richland County Sheriff's deputies were searching for her boyfriend, Mr Kenneth Leroy Walden, 22, who is charged with burglary, kidnapping and criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature.
He is accused of breaking into the home of Ms Abercrombie's stepfather on Monday, tackling her and cutting off her ears with a steak knife.
She ran to a neighbor's home for help after the attack. Paramedics retrieved the ears, put them in a saline-soaked dressing and took them to the hospital with her.
Doctors should know after about five days whether the reattachment surgery was successful.
