Otoplasty: The Belfast Experience. A 10-Year Review of 2333 Ear Outcomes

Background: “Prominent ear” remains one of the most common referrals to pediatric plastic surgery. The perceived deformity has been corrected using a multitude of techniques for over a century, and significant variation in practice still exists. Recent studies suggesting that cartilage-scoring techniques are associated with more major complications than suture techniques may have led to an adverse international perception of the technique. Thus, waning use of anterior scoring prominent ear correction appears to be occurring. For appropriate cases, the authors have used anterior scoring for over 20 years, with high patient satisfaction and low complication rates. They present a review of all cases and outcomes from 2005 to 2015. The authors believe this is the largest case series of anterior scoring otoplasty published to date. Methods: All pediatric cases undergoing prominent ear correction from 2005 to 2015 were included in this retrospective case note analysis and follow-up study. Patient demographics, operative details including early and late complications, and postoperative results were analyzed. Methods: Over a 10-year period, 1199 otoplasties were performed (1134 bilateral, 65 unilateral), for a total of 2333 ear corrections. A total of 1575 ears were corrected using the anterior scoring technique. The remaining cases underwent correction by means of suture only, cartilage reduction, or combination techniques. There was a significantly lower all-cause reoperation rate for anterior scoring compared to suture-only techniques ( P = 0.0039; significant at P < 0.025). There were no reported cases of cartilage necrosis. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that in appropriately selected patients, anterior scoring otoplasty is a low-morbidity procedure. In the authors’ institution, when compared to suture techniques, it was associated with a lower rate of complications and reoperation rate than suture-only techniques. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, IV.