Dog Ears in Wound Closure: Can They Be Minimized?

Abstract

Conical deformities found at the apices of incisions after wound closure represent tissue redundancy, commonly known as "dog ears." The amount of tissue excess is related to the geometry of the incision, surrounding skin elasticity, and tension of closure. Experience with tissue handling shows that some dog ears do "settle" or resolve with time; such cases occur when local tissue has high skin elasticity, the dog ears are small in height, and tension on the line of closure is low. Dog ears that do not fall into this category can be troublesome to surgeon and patient alike as they can poorly impact aesthetic outcomes and lead to secondary revision procedures. Therefore, we present a pertinent review of the mechanisms behind dog-ear formation and the variety of surgical techniques used to minimize and correct their formation.