A new method to correct Stahl's ear.
OBJECTIVE
Stahl's ear is a rare congenital auricular malformation in which an abnormal 'third crus' traverses the upper pole of the scapha. A number of different treatment options have been published to correct Stahl's ear deformity; however, none of them corrects all the variations perfectly. In this article, we describe our new method to correct this deformity.


METHODS
To correct Stahl's ear and acquire a natural-looking appearance, a technique of cartilage scoring and a folding cartilage flap was used. The entire layer of the cartilage was cut through and the anterior skin covering the cartilage was dissected to the external border of the desired superior crus and antehelix to form a fan-shape flap. After scoring of the posterior surface of the cartilage, the cartilage flap was folded and sutured to the cartilage below to build the superior crus.


RESULTS
Seventeen patients ranging in age from 9 to 46 years were operated upon using this technique. The ears that were created were of normal size and shape. All patients and their families were satisfied with the final result. There were no complications.


CONCLUSIONS
We have developed a new method to correct Stahl's ear deformity. Outcomes of this technique on 17 patients suggest that our method is simple, effective and successful.
Liu
Lei
L
Plastic Surgery Hospital, Peking union medical college and Chinese Academy of Medical Science, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Pan
Bo
B
Lin
Lin
L
Yu
Xiaobo
X
Yang
Qinghua
Q
Zhao
Yanyong
Y
Zhuang
Hongxing
H
Jiang
Haiyue
H
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D054644:Ear Auricle / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000601:surgery*; D004425:Ear Cartilage / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000601:surgery*; D004954:Esthetics; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult