Our preferred surgical approach to cicatricial cryptotia

Background

Adhesions between the auricle and retroauricular cranial wall and mastoid occur after burns to this area due to cicatricial contracture, leading to the distortion of the otocranial angle and obscuring the remnant auricle in the scar. A definition of cicatricial cryptotia was devised to describe the ear deformity after burn by the authors, and a novel surgical approach to cicatricial cryptotia was employed to reconstruct the auricle.

Patients and methods

A total of 33 ears in 26 adult patients were operated upon. As many as 19 cases of cicatricial cryptotia were unilateral, seven cases bilateral. The patients’ age ranged from 19 to 31 years. Because of a lack of normal tissues surrounding the remnant ear, a periauricular cicatricial flap was designed to repair the helix and antihelix defect and a horizontal bifoliate skin flap for earlobe reconstruction. Two triangular cicatricial flaps located at the cephalic or caudal direction of the survival ear were used for shaping the otocranial angle and auriculotemporal sulci, combined with zoned transplantation of a full-thickness skin graft.

Results

All cicatricial flaps demonstrated nearly 100% survival and the take rate of transplanted skin grafts was approximately 95%. The main structures were visible and cosmetically acceptable; the otocranial angle and auriculotemporal sulci were acceptably restored. The function of wearing eye glasses or a mask was regained. The patients were followed up from 3 months to 6 years after surgery; the mean follow-up period was 3.2 years. The contour of the reconstructed auricle was maintained well, and the scar contracture was acceptable.

Conclusion

Periauricular cicatricial flaps combined with skin grafting is a new approach to cicatricial cryptotia when auricle reconstruction after burn is limited by a scarcity of supple, elastic local skin and fascia.