Otoplasty and Auricular Reconstruction

Abstract

Due to the variety of abnormalities, surgery of the auricle is one of the most complex challenges in facial plastic surgery. They reach from mild protruding ears or isolated abnormalities of the supporting structures, mainly the helical rim and antihelix, over cup ear deformities and miniears all the way to severe microtia and anotia. In this article, the authors present a short overview of auricular abnormalities and malformations and their treatment options based on their experiences gained over three decades of special service for patients with auricular malformations.

Otoplasty through Ventral Skin Incision and Shaping of the Antihelix by Abrasion—A Retrospective Study

“…While the projection of the ear from an anterior view remains constant throughout life, the auricular width is found to reach its maximum at the age of 6 years [8]. Ear projection has been found to average 20.4 mm with a range of 12 mm to 28 mm [8,9].…”

“…While the projection of the ear from an anterior view remains constant throughout life, the auricular width is found to reach its maximum at the age of 6 years [8]. Ear projection has been found to average 20.4 mm with a range of 12 mm to 28 mm [8,9]. Concerning 5% of the pediatric population [1,3,10] the protruding ear is the most common auricular variance, presenting as a hereditary trait [8].…”

“…Ear projection has been found to average 20.4 mm with a range of 12 mm to 28 mm [8,9]. Concerning 5% of the pediatric population [1,3,10] the protruding ear is the most common auricular variance, presenting as a hereditary trait [8]. Whilst genes seem to be the main influencing factor, external factors such as hypoxia or radiation during embryological development are also discussed as possible influences in auricular malformation, but they have yet to be linked to ear protrusion in particular [9].…”

“…The aesthetics of the auricle is of main concern when it comes to tackling the issue of prominent ears, as surgical otoplasty presents a reconstructive measure in correcting a partially aesthetic, yet non-functional, deficiency with profound psychosocial impact on the lives of the affected [8]. Multiple approaches have been established and are widely available in attempts to perfect otoplasty, both from a surgical and an aesthetic point of view [1,3,7,9,10,[14][15][16][17][18].…”

The periosteal‐cutaneous chimeric medial femoral condyle free flap for subtotal ear reconstruction: A case report

“…In order to address a full ear reconstruction, two factors are always needed: a three‐dimensional auricular framework and a skin coverage. In fact, from an anatomical point of view, the ear is characterized by an elastic cartilage framework surrounded by a thin layer of skin fixed to the perichondrium, with no subcutaneous tissue in between in the anterior part and a millimetric layer in the posterior one (Siegert & Magritz, 2019). Because of the complexity of reconstruction, the need for different type of tissue and the lack of local tissue from proximity, auricular reconstruction is traditionally a multistaged approach (Chen et al, 2020).…”