Auricular Reconstruction with Porous Polyethylene Frameworks: Outcome and Patient Benefit in 65 Children and Adults

Abstract

Auricular reconstruction using a porous polyethylene framework can significantly increase patients' health-related quality of life, and leads to a high rate of patient satisfaction.

Total Reconstruction of the Auricle: Our Experiences on Indications and Recent Techniques

“…Recent authors focus on the outcome, the benefit to the patients quality of life and their psychological improvement after the operation (either with rib cartilage or Medpor), retrospectively [30, 50] and prospectively [51], a topic that seems to have become an important issue within the last few years. As Sivayoham and Woolford [52] mentioned in their article, “it is becoming increasingly important that we can justify the commissioning of operations such as total ear reconstruction, not just with the intuitive observation that of course it is desirable to have two ears, but with high-quality evidence.” Braun et al [30] and Soukup et al [50] have used the Glasgow inventory scale, which is a health-related quality-of-life assessment tool, to detect patient satisfaction after auricular reconstruction (autologous or alloplastic material).…”

“…As Sivayoham and Woolford [52] mentioned in their article, “it is becoming increasingly important that we can justify the commissioning of operations such as total ear reconstruction, not just with the intuitive observation that of course it is desirable to have two ears, but with high-quality evidence.” Braun et al [30] and Soukup et al [50] have used the Glasgow inventory scale, which is a health-related quality-of-life assessment tool, to detect patient satisfaction after auricular reconstruction (autologous or alloplastic material). Both studies show a positive health-related quality-of-life benefit (total score and social health subscale) in the total reconstruction either with autologous material (Soukup) or Medpor (Braun).…”

Porous polyethylene for the reconstruction of severe Cosman cleft ear deformities

“…Porous polyethylene is a synthetic thermoplastic with a pore size of 100-200 μm, thus allowing tissue ingrowth; it can be considered the most widely used alloplastic material for ear reconstruction [23,24]. Combined with a coverage of the framework by a temporoparietal fascia flap and autologous skin grafts, this surgical approach for auricular reconstruction is reported not only to yield reliable results but also to be associated with a low complication and high patient satisfaction rate [3,25]. The follow-up of the use of porous polyethylene for ear reconstruction is approximately 30 years since it has been used by the first author since the 1980s with excellent results [23,25].…”

The temporoparietal fascia flap

“…In an effort to alleviate the use of rib cartilage and its associated donor-site morbidity (including chest-wall deformity), some authors have recently advocated the use of porous polyethylene framework covered by a TPFF or retroauricular flap and a skin graft [15,16].…”