Ear reconstruction is one of the most difficult issues that a reconstructive surgeon faces because it requires exact skill combined with inventive ingenuity. Microtia is a congenital abnormality of the external ear where the external ear is extremely malformed. There may be a variety of outer ear abnormalities with an assortment of depths of participation of the middle and inner ear. This form of ear abnormality is most often seen in patients with hemifacial microsomia and Treacher-Collins syndrome.
The emotional trauma of an ear deformity can play an important role in determining when to have the reconstruction. Most surgeons prefer to perform ear reconstruction surgery when the patient is between 5 and 7 years of age, before the child starts school, in hopes that it will reduce the anxiety associated with peer pressure. This time frame enables significant rib growth to offer the amount of cartilage necessary for the surgeon to have ample framework fabrication.
Ear reconstruction surgery at this age can provide a more reliable outcome than earlier intervention because the child will have had an opportunity to grow, allowing the surgeon the opportunity to reconstruct the size and the shape of the ear to the child's normal ear size, making it less noticeable.
Surgery for microtia involves the rebuilding of the external ear framework. Ear reconstruction necessitates a cautiously planned, staged reforming process that involves 3-4 surgeries. The first surgery takes place with the structuring of the cartilage framework for the ear.
And additional surgeries are necessary in order to rotate the lobule and to elevate the structure into its final position.
The traumatic amputation of an ear would be another condition where ear reconstruction surgery would be utilized. The amount of ear loss would play a key role in the types and stages of reconstruction necessary.
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