A new method of auriculoplasty for protruding ears

The paper describes a new method of correction of prominent ears which is based on mathematical preoperative planning of ear-to-skull distance. The antihelix is shaped by two dermosubcutaneous perichondrial flaps; the conchal spring is eased by means of a wedge-shaped cartilage excision in the area of the isthmus of the cartilage or the auricle, while residual protrusion of the lobule is corrected by a Z-plasty. This method was used to correct 233 protruding ears in 129 patients and better aesthetic results were obtained than those reported for other modern methods of corrective auriculoplasty. The advantages of the method are that it is radical, less traumatic than many others and eliminates any possibility of subjective errors in the preoperative planning of the ear-to-skull distance.