Posterior Perichondrioadipodermal flap: A Versatile Option for Revision Otoplasty

Complications after otoplasty procedure can be divided into early- and late-period complications, with the former occurring up to 14 days postoperatively and the latter occurring after the initial 14-day period. Indications for revision surgery of ear deformations after primary otoplasty are generally related to late complications. The majority of patients demand secondary treatment because of unsatisfactory cosmetic results.

A total of 32 patients (18 male and 14 female patients) underwent revision otoplasty with the same surgeon between May 2015 and May 2018. Patient ages ranged from 24 to 70 years. In total, 21 patients underwent bilateral revision otoplasty, whereas 11 patients underwent unilateral revision otoplasty. Patients were also evaluated for complaint and deformity type such as suture extrusion, recurrence, asymmetry, and postauricular area sensitivity or pain. Patients were also evaluated for previously performed primary otoplasty technique.

There were mainly 4 long-term complications for revision otoplasty: suture extrusion, asymmetry, recurrence, and long-term pain and sensitivity in the posterior auricular area. In 12 cases, the complaint was suture extrusion; in 8 cases, patients complained about both suture extrusion and asymmetry. Bilateral recurrence was present in 10 cases, and in 2 cases, revision otoplasty was performed because of long-term pain and sensitivity.

In this study, it was aimed to demonstrate that posterior perichondrioadipodermal flap is a safe and simple method for revision otoplasty. The technique is highly advantageous if the primary otoplasty technique is a cartilage-sparing method. However, if the primary otoplasty technique is a cartilage-sculpting method, the efficiency of this technique remains unknown because no patient in this study had cartilage-sculpting otoplasty as primary otoplasty, which is possibly the main drawback of this study.