Special forms of otoplasty operations

Special forms of ear surgery , which Weerda also calls folding techniques without access (this means access to the cartilage), are methods in which the ears are no longer cut open and the cartilage is no longer exposed, in contrast to traditional open ear surgery . B. in the ear surgery according to Fritsch . They are therefore called closed ear surgery. The desired position of the ears is only achieved by making very small skin incisions or stab incisions with the help of recessed, non-absorbable plastic threads.

Most of the special types of otoplasty operations are not satisfied with the procedure described above. Many authors also use traditional methods (see article Otopexy ).

A special form of otoplasty that is not combined with traditional methods is the so-called thread method , which, according to its author, is the least invasive method of all oturgery, which is why he also describes it in his publication "A closed, minimally invasive procedure for the creation of protruding ears ".

A head bandage is either only necessary for a few days or, with the suture method, not at all.

Since 2016, an ear repair operation called the EarFold or EarFold method has been offered. It is also called minimally invasive by its users, but does not meet the criteria of a minimally invasive technique as characterized by Merck. With the EarFold method, one, two or three 1 cm long cuts are made on the front of the auricle, from which the skin is dissected from the cartilage about 2.5 cm long. In this way, skin pockets are formed into which curved metal implants are inserted to form the antihelix. The skin incisions are sutured and glued with Steri-Strip wound closure strips. In terms of invasiveness, the EarFold method is therefore not a minimally invasive ear-fitting procedure. It occupies a middle position between the invasive open traditional otomy operations and the minimally invasive thread method according to Merck.

Possible complications and risks

Due to the minimally invasive technique, the special forms are afflicted with significantly fewer complications than traditional otoplasty operations (see also possible complications in the otopexy article ): thread rejection, asymmetry of the ear position, relapse (the ear sticks out again), minor bleeding, short-term pain, very rarely small atheromas .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Hilko Weerda: Surgery of the auricle. Georg Thieme Verlag, 2004, ISBN 3-13-130181-3 .
2. ↑ BL Kaye: A simplified method for correcting the prominent ear. In: Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Volume 40, Number 1, July 1967, pp. 44-48, PMID 5338774 .
3. ^ R. Mouly: Correction sans ciĹcatrice des oreilles décollées. In: Ann. Chir. Plast. Volume 16, 1971, pp. 55-59
4. ↑ IJ Peled: knifeless otoplasty: how simple can it be? In: Aesthetic plastic surgery. Volume 19, Number 3, May-June 1995, pp. 253-255, PMID 7668173 .
5. ↑ MH Fritsch: Incisionless otoplasty. In: Otolaryngologic clinics of North America. Volume 42, Number 6, December 2009, pp. 1199-208, Table of Contents, doi: 10.1016 / j.otc.2009.09.003 , PMID 19962016 .
6. ^ H. Tramier: Personal approach to treatment of prominent ears. In: Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Volume 99, Number 2, February 1997, pp. 562-565, PMID 9030170 .
7. ^ TR Vecchione: Needle scoring of the anterior surface of the cartilage in otoplasty. In: Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Volume 64, Number 4, October 1979, p. 568, PMID 482446 .
8. ^ MH Fritsch: Incisionless Otoplasty. In: Facial Plast. Surg. Volume 20, 2004, pp. 267-270
9. ↑ Y. Ullmann, L. Fodor: Simple method for the treatment of protruding ears. In: J. Aesth. Chir. Volume 1, 2008, pp. 17-20
10. ↑ MH Fritsch: Incisionless otoplasty. In: The Laryngoscope. Volume 105, number 5 Pt 3 Suppl 70, May 1995, pp. 1-11, doi: 10.1288 / 00005537-199505002-00001 , PMID 7760682 .
11. ↑ ^{a b} W. H. Merck: The thread method according to Dr. Merck. In: Journal for Aesthetic Surgery. Volume 6, 2013, p. 209, doi: 10.1007 / s12631-013-0265-9 .
12. ↑ NV Kang, RL Kerstein: Treatment of prominent ears with an implantable clip system: a pilot study. In: Aesthet. Surg. J. 2016, Volume 36, NP100-NP116
13. ↑ NV Kang, N. Sojitra et al: Earfold Implantable Clip System for Correction of Prominent Ears: Analysis of Safety in 403 Patients. In: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Global Open. Volume 6, No. 1, January 2018

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