Clinical efficacy of modified total auricular reconstruction technique by using reformative inflation method and remnant ear without skin grafting.

Abstract

BackgroundAs one of the most widely used methods to treat microtia, the auricular reconstruction proposed by Zhuang may have several drawbacks. This study aimed to introduce a modified Zhuang’s ear reconstruction technique by using a reformative inflation method and remnant ear to shorten therapy time and avoid skin grafting in a two-stage operation for patients with microtia.MethodsA total of 124 patients with microtia were enrolled consecutively from 2014 to 2018. Among them, 66 patients underwent a modified Zhuang’s method, and the remaining patients underwent Zhuang’s method. The clinical and perioperative characteristics of patients, as well as complications and esthetic outcomes were analyzed.ResultsCompared with Zhuang’s group, our modified Zhuang’s group had better average esthetic scores according to two plastic surgeons [11.5 (IQR, 10.5–12.5) vs. 9.5 (IQR, 7.5–11.0), P<0.001], fewer hypertrophic scar cases [0% (n=0/66) vs. 10% (n=6/58), P = 0.024], shorter whole therapy duration [2.5 (IQR, 2.4–2.6) vs. 5.0 (IQR, 5.0–5.1) days, P<0.001] and shorter hospital duration after operation [5 (IQR, 5–6) vs. 6 (IQR, 5–6) days, P=0.013].ConclusionsOur modified Zhuang’s technique is a new method to treat microtia which results in a clear contour of the reconstructed ear and matching skin color, minimal scarring, and a short treatment time.