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Clinical evaluation and surgical management of congenital preauricular fistulas
Purpose:
The retrospective investigation evaluated the clinical data on patients with a preauricular fistula with respect to demographic factors, symptoms, preoperative diagnosis, and surgical therapy. Follow-up studies served to critically assess the outcome of the operations.
Patients And Methods:
The records of 62 patients were studied. Patients were divided into two groups: those operated on for the first time for a preauricular fistula and those operated on for a recurrence. Controlled follow-up was performed by means of a standardized questionnaire filled out by both the patients' physicians and the patients themselves.
Results:
The mean age of patients operated on for the first time was 16 years, and that of patients operated on for a recurrence was 22 years. Although the overall rate of recurrence was 21%, it differed widely between groups (14% in first operations and 42% in patients operated on for the first time for a recurrence). These figures are within the lower range of the recurrence rates previously reported. Serious side effects, such as persistent damage to the facial nerve, were not observed.
Conclusions:
Operative management of a preauricular fistula is a treatment with few side effects that should be offered to each patient with such a malformation. Because the first operation is decisive for the further course of the condition, surgery should be performed under optimum conditions to avoid recurrence.