Earlobe reconstruction using a chondrocutaneous flap.
A postauricular chondrocutaneous flap including a postauricular artery was used in reconstructing congenital dysplasia of the earlobe. This flap had a safe and sufficient blood supply and had an excellent texture match. To reconstruct congenitally absent earlobes of two patients, a skin flap of the mastoid region and a chondrocutaneous flap that has a subcutaneous pedicle were used. To reconstruct congenital hypoplastic earlobe clefts of three patients, hinge flaps of two small earlobes and a transpositioned chondrocutaneous flap were used. The reconstructed earlobes had a thin, natural form, and deformity by contracture had not developed. The donor scar left by the flap was inconspicuous.
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Hirosaki University School of Medicine, Aomori, Japan.
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Yotsuyanagi
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004431:Ear, External / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013524:Surgical Flaps / Q000379:methods*