title: Otoplasty for prominent ears deformity.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Prominent ears are a common congenital deformity of the external ear, derived from a combination of defects in the antihelix and concha. The majority of cases are treated surgically, but one of major difficulties associated with otoplasty regards the achievement of lasting aesthetic results. With the present study we propose an effective combination of four surgical techniques of cartilage reshaping with the ultimate goal of creating a new stable antihelical fold.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-one patients with prominent ears were involved prospectively. The subjects (16 male and 25 female) ranged in age from 6 to 43 years, with a mean age of 12 years. All patients underwent to the same surgical procedure and we performed softening and reshaping of the antihelix adopting the consecutive use of four surgical techniques: hemitransfixing microincisions, scoring, squeezing and posterior mattress suture fixation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Total number of ears that underwent surgery was 71. The mean postoperative follow-up period was 2 years. The mean postoperative change of protrusion was 7.96 mm referring to the superior cephaloauricular distance, while it was 12.18 mm considering the middle cephaloauricular distance. No patient developed complications or recurrence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The proposed surgical procedure for otoplasty resulted in endurance of auricular appearance and symmetry with high success rate and low morbidity.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery "P. Valdoni", Sapienza University, Rome, Italy. serratorefrancesco@yahoo.it.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fioramonti
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Serratore
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tarallo
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ruggieri
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ribuffo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D004431:Ear, External / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011184:Postoperative Period; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult