EAR PROJECTION AND THE POSTERIOR AURICULAR MUSCLE INSERTION

Prominent ears is a common congenital anomaly affecting approximately 5 percent of the general population. The etiology has been attributed to three basic deformities in the ear structure: valgus of the concha with a cranioauricular angle greater than 40 degrees, under-folding of the anthelix, and rarely, hypertrophy of the concha. It is believed t hat by virtue of its insertion onto the ponticulus, the cranial surfac e of the concha, the posterior auricular muscle may function to pull t he auricle back toward the head. A proximally (anteromedially) displac ed insertion site would decrease the length of the effective momentum of the muscle, leading to protrusion of the auricle. This study was co nducted to determine if indeed a relationship between the posterior mu scle insertion site and ear projection could be established clinically by measuring these parameters intraoperatively in patients presenting for otoplasty and in patients without prominent ears who required con chal cartilage grafts for other procedures.