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Published on: June 8, 2017
Identification of congenital auricular deformities during newborn hearing screening allows for non-surgical
Rajanya S Petersson1, Chelsey A Recker, Joscelyn R K Martin
1Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA. rajpetersson@gmail.com
Insights
Newborn hearing screeners can be trained to identify congenital auricular deformities. Early splinting therapy, initiated within 3 days of birth, effectively corrects these deformities with no adverse effects.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal care
- Pediatric plastic surgery
- Otolaryngology
Background:
- Congenital auricular deformities are common birth defects.
- Early intervention is crucial for successful non-surgical correction.
- Newborn hearing screening provides a timely opportunity for identification.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the feasibility of training newborn hearing screeners to identify congenital auricular deformities.
- To assess the efficacy of early splinting therapy for these deformities.
- To determine the safety and effectiveness of this combined approach.
Main Methods:
- Newborn hearing screeners received specialized education on auricular deformities.
- Ten infants with 19 affected ears were enrolled in a pilot study.
- Splinting was initiated within the first 3 days of life, prior to hospital discharge.
Main Results:
- Splinting successfully corrected deformities such as cup ear, Stahl's ear, and prominent ear.
- All treated ears showed improvement within 1-4 weeks.
- No skin irritation or breakdown occurred during treatment.
Conclusions:
- Early identification and splinting of congenital auricular deformities by trained newborn hearing screeners is feasible and effective.
- Splinting therapy is most successful when initiated within the first 72 hours of life.
- This approach offers a non-surgical, safe, and efficient method for correcting infant ear deformities.
Objective:
To introduce a Mayo Clinic pilot study in which newborn hearing screeners are trained to identify congenital auricular deformities, allowing for non-surgical correction with a simple splint initiated in the immediate neonatal period.
Methods:
Newborn hearing screeners received education on evaluation of congenital auricular deformities. Ten infants with 19 affected ears amenable to treatment with a simple splint were enrolled between June 15 and December 10, 2009. Splinting was initiated prior to the infant's discharge from the hospital.
Results:
Congenital auricular deformities amenable to correction with splinting included cup ear, Stahl's ear, and prominent ear. All ears were assessed by physical examination and photographic documentation prior to splinting and at follow-up visits. All exhibited improvement from the original deformity after 1-4 weeks of splinting. There were no instances of skin irritation or breakdown.
Conclusion:
Splinting therapy of congenital auricular deformities is very effective when initiated within the first 3 days of life while cartilage is quite malleable. Newborn hearing screening is performed within 24-48 h of birth and is an ideal opportunity to identify auricular deformities. This pilot study shows that early identification of auricular deformities by properly educated newborn hearing screeners is feasible, allowing for successful initiation of splinting therapy.
