Subcostal Skin Graft Donor Site for Autologous Ear Construction

Autologous ear construction for microtia creates an auricle using a costal cartilage framework. To separate the construct from the mastoid, a skin graft is required to form a retroauricular sulcus. Skin graft donor sites that have been described include the inguinal area (split or full-thickness) or scalp (split-thickness). The purpose of this study is to report a novel skin graft donor site for ear construction. We harvest a full-thickness graft from the subcostal area based on the previous scar from the cartilage harvest. Unlike the inguinal donor site, this method does not place an additional scar on the child. In contrast to the scalp donor site, the technique is simpler and a full-thickness graft minimizes contraction of the retroauricular sulcus.