The surgery of congenital deafness. The Oxford, England series of 235 ears

This paper outlines the indications for surgery of congenital ears in complete meatal aplasia and an operative technique used in 35 ears. It is felt that otologic surgery should be done before the pinna reconstruction as it is very important to try and introduce sound into these children at an early age. Most of the patients in this series were 2 to 3 years' old. In addition, the position of the new auricle can be made more satisfactorily around an already established meatus. The value of radiology of the internal as well as the middle ear is stressed and the necessity for providing a stable and uninfected meatus emphasised with regard to the possible fitting of a hearing aid. Failure to achieve a permanent unaided hearing improvement is due to fibrosis at the bottom of the meatus, a problem which is yet to be solved.