Management of the ear canal in head and neck surgery

The management of the ear canal in the treatment of tumors occurring in the area of the head and neck is a highly specialized problem. The material for this report is a derivative of the treatment of tumors involving the auricle, tragus, the skin of the cheek, temple, mastoid, parotid gland, ear canal, and middle ear. The extensive variety of histopathologic conditions and positions of the various tumors creates special problems in preserving and reconstructing the ear canal, saving the tympanic membrane, and rehabilitating the area of the ear canal when these structures have had to be resected. Six basic techniques have been used in rehabilitating this unique area, by using regional skin, free skin grafts, regional flaps, cervical flaps, combinations of these techniques, and large cutaneous and myocutaneous chest and back flaps for the larger ablations.