A child may be born with a tiny malformed ear, as a manifestation of embryologic underdevelopment. Such patients can begin to undergo restorative ear surgery as early as six years of age to create a new external ear. The most effective method for success is the use of the patient’s own rib cartilage from which a new ear framework is carved. This technique recreates the living natural ear which allows for retention of the protective sensation of the new ear. If the child’s new ear is injured or develops an infection, it is treated like a “normal” ear since it is the child’s own tissues. Ear reconstruction is an operation where there is ONE good chance to create a new ear.

The result depends on your surgeon’s artistic ability to sculpt the new ear in with cartilage. The process begins with careful planning of the missing ear using measurements, patterns, molds, and plaster casts which are made from the patient’s current ears. During the first surgery, the patient’s own rib cartilage is carefully carved to make a framework that is implanted beneath the skin. The earlobe may be rotated into the proper position as part of the first stage or at a second stage. At the next stage, the ear is elevated and a skin graft is placed behind the cartilage to create the space behind the ear. The final stage includes refining the central cup of the ear (concha) and the protective door over the ear canal (tragus). A multiple-stage approach is used to provide anatomic results and an ear that has a protective sensation.