Early non-surgical treatment of congenital auricular deformity

Abstract

Objective To investigate the effect of auricle deformity corrector in non-surgical treatment of congenital auricular deformity. Methods The auricular deformity correctors were applied for non-surgical treatment of congenital auricular deformities. The patients were divided into three groups according to the treatment starting age (<1 month old, 1-3 months old, 3-6 months old), followed up for every month respectively after treatment. According to the improvement of auricle morphology, the treatment results were divided into four levels (e, g, f, p) and the effective rate (e+ g)% was calculated. Results From January 2014 to December 2016, there were 140 ears of congenital malformations in children aged less than 6 months who were treated and followed up. Among them, 33 ears had helical rim abnormalities, 29 with cup-shaped ears, 12 with prominent ears, 4 with Stahl′s ears, and 62 with cryptotia ears. The therapeutic efficacies (<1 month old, 1-3 months old, 3-6 months) of these ear malformations were: cryptotia ear (100%, 100%, 87.5%), helical rim abnormality (100%, 90.47%, 66.67 %), prominent ear (-, 100%, 50%), cup ear (100%, 78.57%, 53.33%), Stahl′s ear (-, 100%, 33.33%). Follow-up more than 6 months after treatment, up to a year and a half, no recurrence was found. Conclusions The auricular deformity corrector can be used as an effective approach for achieving natural outcomes and correcting cosmetic abnormalities. Rate of satisfaction is dependent on types of deformity, the neonatal age in which treatment started and also parents′ compliance to treatment methods and principals. The method is noninvasive, easy to wear and works well. Early proper treatment can avoid future operations and save social medical resources. Key words: Auricle, external ear; Congenital deformity; Atraumatic technique