Sonographic appearances of preauricular sinus

Preauricular sinuses are a common congenital abnormality. This study was performed to determine their sonographic features.

Fifteen preauricular sinuses (in 13 patients) were examined using a 5-10 MHz transducer to evaluate the nature of the sinus. Surgical correlation was obtained in 11 cases.

Sonography detected the sinus in all cases. The maximum width of the sinus tract was 3 mm; it showed a branching pattern in four (27%) patients. Nine sinuses (60%) led to a cystic component, and the remaining six (40%) showed terminal ramification. Gas was identified within the sinus in nine (60%) cases. In the patients that underwent surgery, the diagnosis and the relationship of the sinus/ cystic component to the superficial temporal artery (STA), anterior crus of the helix and the tragus was confirmed and correlated well with the sonographic findings. However, the branching pattern of the sinus tract was difficult to confirm.

Sonography readily detects preauricular sinuses and demonstrates their relationship to the STA, anterior crus of the helix, and the tragus, and can therefore be helpful in pre-operative assessment. Ahuja, A. T. (2000). Clinical Radiology 55, 528-532.