Protruding Ears and Auricle Correction (Otoplasty)

Protruding ears are usually due to inadequate development of the antihelical fold, the main ear fold of the auricle. Additional malformations are seldom.

The congenital complete or partial lack of the auricle occurs usually in combination with middle and inner ear malformations. Auricular reconstruction is a complex process and is done in several phases, the alternative would be an ear prosthesis.

Reconstructions of auricular defects following skin tumor removal are mostly simple procedures with local skin flaps under local anesthesia.

Corrections of protruding ears on children are performed under general anesthesia in the hospital on an outpatient basis. For adults otoplasties are done under local anesthesia in the practice. The incision is made behind the auricle, the auricular cartilage is shaped with use of various grinding and cutting techniques and is fixated with sutures. In most cases the operation is quite simple and shows almost always an excellent result.