Otoplasty: The experience of 100 consecutive patients

Although prominent ears are the most common congenital deformity in the hea d and neck region, only approximately 8 percent of patients who present for treatment of this deformity will have some family history of the abnormali ty. More than 200 techniques have been described for correction of this def ormity, indicating that there is no single widely accepted procedure that h as been adopted by most surgeons. The authors of this study present their c hoice of a procedure that combines the most beneficial features of three pr eviously described techniques and that provides consistently satisfactory r esults. The surgical technique consists of scoring of the antihelical cartilage on its anterior surface in a subcutaneous position (as described by Stenstrom) , suturing to recreate the fold of the antihelix (in the fashion of Mustard e), and concha-mastoid suturing applied to the back of the ear to decrease the concha-scaphoid angle (in the manner of Furnas). The last 100 consecuti ve patients operated on by the senior author (J.A.F.) over a 10-year period were evaluated. Follow-up data were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier surviv al method. The postoperative analysis focused on the incidence of postopera tive complications and the overall results of the technique. Most operations were performed bilaterally, on women, and with the patient under local anesthesia. There were few complications, and the incidence of complications was much lower than had been noted in previously reported ser ies. All patients were very satisfied with the improvement in the appearanc e of their ears. The combined technique presented is safe, easy to perform, and has few comp lications, and its final outcome is reproducible and long-lasting. It can b e considered a standard technique to be used for treating patients of any a ge and with any magnitude of defect.