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Otoplasty: an analysis of technique over a 33-year period
Fred J Stucker1, Neil M Vora, Timothy S Lian
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Louisiana State University Health Science Center, Shreveport 71130, USA. FStuck@lsuhsc.edu
Objective:
To compare the merits of otoplasty technique with a diverse patient population as experienced spanning a period greater 30 years.
Study Design:
A review of a series of otoplasty cases that occurred in two distinctly different clinical settings during a 33-year period.
Methods:
A retrospective analysis of 211 patients undergoing otoplasty from 1969 to 1982 in a military hospital setting was compared with 118 patients receiving otoplasty from 1982 to 2002 in a university/private practice setting. The patient population consisted of 180 adults and 149 children.
Results:
Otoplasty patients in the military setting were primarily adults, whereas those in the university/private practice setting were primarily children. In the adult population, 98.9% of patients required use of lateral conchal cartilage resection combined with a mattress suture technique. In the pediatric population, all patients required use of a mattress suture technique and in 83.2% of selected cases limited lateral conchal cartilage resection was required.
Conclusion:
Otoplasty technique involving lateral conchal cartilage resection, mattress suture fixation, or a combination of both is applicable to diverse patient populations.