Edward Talbot Ely: father of aesthetic otoplasty.

Abstract

Archives of Facial Plastic SurgeryVol. 6, No. 1 PerspectivesFree AccessEdward Talbot ElyFather of Aesthetic OtoplastySamuel M. LamSamuel M. Lam1112 N Floyd Rd, Suite 9, Richardson, TX 75080Search for more papers by this authorPublished Online:1 Jan 2004https://doi.org/10.1001/archfaci.6.1.64AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB Permissions & CitationsPermissionsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsAdd to favorites Back To Publication ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail Edward Talbot Ely (1850-1885) lived a tragically short life of 35 years, but at the age of 31 years, in 1881, he recorded the landmark case of the first otoplasty in the medical literature. He reported with his characteristically humble demeanor his remarkable achievement: "I do not know whether this is a new operation for the deformity in question or not, but, if allowed to judge from a single case, I can highly recommend it."1 Although Becker2 has credited the German surgical legend Dieffenbach as the originator of the otoplasty technique, Rogers' careful review of Dieffenbach's text Die Ohrbuildung: Otoplastik reveals that the author only described repair of traumatic ear deformities and made no mention of aesthetic otoplasty.3,4 It was Jacques Joseph who correctly attributed the first otoplasty to Ely in his classic tome Nasenplastik und Sonstige Gesichtsplastik, and only remarked on Dieffenbach's noteworthy contributions to nasal surgery.Ely, the son of physician W. S. Ely of Rochester, NY, completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Rochester in 1871 and earned his medical degree from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University in 1874. He served as house staff at Charity Hospital, to which he returned as visiting surgeon after his training. He then joined the faculty of Manhattan Eye and Ear Hospital in 1876 to work under the guidance of Dr Daniel Bennett St John Roosa, a founder and director of the recently opened hospital. Together, Roosa and Ely published a compact manual, Ophthalmic and Otic Memoranda, and later a less abridged thesis, Ophthalmic and Otic Contributions, as guides to student and practitioner alike. As an otolaryngologist, he published articles on suppurative ear diseases, a plague in the preantibiotic era, and how to reconstruct these infected, denuded areas with skin grafting. His scholarly work extended to the study of ophthalmoscopic refraction in neonates and concluded that the newborns he studied were commonly afflicted with hyperopia. His diverse intellectual pursuits led him to study the effects of tobacco on cigar makers, who in turn enjoyed the product of their labor, but he found that the consumed tobacco was not clearly detrimental to their health. An extremely industrious and productive individual, Ely died at 35 years of age from pulmonary tuberculosis. His death was perhaps hastened by his overly obsessive work ethic and ignorance of the deadliness of his health condition. He was survived by his spouse and infant daughter.Despite Ely's many notable contributions to the otolaryngology literature, he is rightfully best remembered for his seminal article on otoplasty. His short treatise of 1881 described his simple and elegant technique to address "prominence of the auricles" on a 12-year-old boy psychologically crippled by his deformity. Ely undertook his operation in stages, first operating on the right ear (Figure 1) and correcting the left ear 6 weeks later. He was first to describe the removal of skin and cartilage to effect a permanent alteration in the ear position, which he achieved by an elliptical excision of skin from the postauricular sulcus, followed by that of a narrower strip of underlying conchal cartilage. He reapproximated the tissues principally with sutures that spanned both cartilage and skin, with a few that only united the skin.Front and rear view, after operation to correct first the right-ear deformity and prior to correction of the left ear (woodcut made from photograph).Ely's formidable achievement may be overlooked in the wake of the many giants of otoplasty who followed, including Farrior, Furnas, Mustarde, and Converse, to all of whom particular otoplasty techniques have been eponymously ascribed. But Ely stands as the father of aesthetic otoplasty, and one can only imagine the wealth of intellectual gain that was lost by his untimely death.