Rehabilitation of an Auricular Defect Using Surgical Stent

Reconstruction of a facial defect is a complex modality either surgically or prosthetically, depending on the site, size, etiology, severity, age, and the patient's expectation. The loss of an auricle, in the presence of an auditory canal, affects hearing, because the auricle gathers sound and directs it into the canal. The auricle acts as a resonator to slightly amplify lower frequency sounds and helps to localize sounds, especially in conjunction with the other ear. Osseointegrated implants have an important role in the prosthetic reconstruction of patients with craniofacial defects. The main indications of this treatment plan are lack of local tissue for autogenous reconstruction, previous reconstruction failure and selection of this technique by the patient. This paper presents a clinical case and advantages of the osseointegrated implant technique for retention of auricular prostheses.