Endochondral pseudocyst of the auricle in Chinese

Thirty-one patients with endochondral pseudocysts of the auricle were seen over a four-year period in the Department of Surgery at the University of Hong Kong. The lesions chiefly affected Chinese males (90.3%); 80.6% involved the scaphoid fossa on the anterior surface of the pinna. They were usually asymptomatic and static in size. Excision of the anterior wall, followed by contour pressure dressing, gave cosmetically satisfactory results in 90% of the patients, and there were no recurrences. Pathologic studies revealed the absence of an epithelial lining as well as multiple cystic spaces that contained abundant glycosaminoglycans (acid mucopolysaccharides). We postulate that the overproduction of glycosaminoglycans engendered by repeated minor trauma to the cartilage was the primary cause of the pseudocysts.