Related Experiment Videos
Nonsurgical treatment of prominent ears with the Auri method
Michael Miravet Sorribes1, Mirko Tos
1Jyllingeparken 156, 4040 Jyllinge, Denmark.
Insights
The Auri method offers a new, non-surgical approach for correcting prominent ears in children. This treatment shows high satisfaction and effective correction rates, preventing future psychosocial issues.
Area of Science:
- Plastic surgery
- Pediatric otolaryngology
- Medical device innovation
Background:
- Prominent pinnae (ears) can cause psychosocial distress in children.
- Existing correction methods may be invasive or less effective.
- A non-surgical, conservative approach is needed for early intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and evaluate the efficacy of the Auri method for correcting prominent pinnae in young children.
- To assess both objective and subjective outcomes of the treatment.
- To determine the long-term stability of the correction.
Main Methods:
- A prospective study involving 44 children (56 pinnae) aged 2 weeks to 5.5 years.
- Utilized the Auri method: a nighttime clip and daytime adhesive strip.
- Evaluated outcomes using objective measures (ear thickness, stiffness, distance) and subjective assessments (parent/investigator judgment).
Main Results:
- 86% of pinnae achieved good to fair correction.
- 100% of parents were satisfied with the treatment.
- Correction was maintained in 86% of cases at 10-month follow-up.
- Minor, temporary skin irritation or squeeze marks occurred in 30% of children.
Conclusions:
- The Auri method is an effective, non-surgical treatment for prominent pinnae in children aged 0.25-5.5 years.
- It offers good short-term results and high parent satisfaction.
- Early treatment can prevent psychosocial and cosmetic concerns during school years.
Objective:
To present and test a new method for conservative correction of prominent pinnae in children aged between 2 weeks and 5.5 years.
Design:
Prospective study on 56 pinnae from 44 children aged between 0.25 and 5.5 years, treated with the Auri method, which consists of a clip and a strip. The clip is a specially designed plastic clamp used during the night for an average of 4.3 hours per night. It squeezes the cartilage and makes a fold at the place of the missing anthelix. The strip is a double adhesive fixture used during daytime for an average of 8.9 hours per day. To test the efficiency of the treatment objective (thickness and stiffness of the pinna, cephaloauricular distance, and photo-documentation) and subjective (investigators' and parents' judgment of the shape and grade of the correction of the pinnae) parameters have been applied.
Results:
Of the children, 38 (86%) achieved good to fair correction of their pinnae. Of the parents, all 44 (100%) were satisfied with the treatment and 35 (80%) reported good to fair correction of their child's pinnae. Slight complications were observed in 13 children (30%): 10 (23%) had temporary irritation of the skin of the pinna and 3 (7%) had slight temporary squeeze marks of the pinnae. Of the 44 children, 31 were evaluated 10 months after completing treatment, and the pinnae of 38 children (86%) maintained their corrected shape.
Conclusions:
Correction of the prominent pinna can be done by the new nonsurgical Auri method in children aged between 0.25 and 5.5 years, which provided good to fair results in 89% of pinnae in this study. The method is efficient in the short term and easy to use by the parents, but it requires long-term motivation of the parents as well as the child. The child can be treated at early age, avoiding psychosocial and cosmetic problems during school age.