At Plastic and Craniofacial Surgery for Infants and Children, we offer advanced options for the treatment of ear deformity. If you are the parent of a child with one of these challenging conditions, request a consultation online or call us at (469) 375-3838 to schedule a time to meet with our skilled team. You can also review our online resources about ear surgery and non-surgical options for the following conditions:
EarWell™ Infant Ear Correction System
Dr. Byrd offers both surgical and non-surgical ear deformity correction. His patented non-surgical procedure using the EarWell™ device can successfully treat over 90% of all childhood ear deformities. The EarWell Infant Ear Correction System can correct common deformities such as prominent ear, Stahl’s ear, cup ear, lop ear, lidding, helical compression, and conchal crus can be successfully treated with the. Even the less severe Tanzer II constricted ear malformations are corrected or improved with the EarWell.
The EarWell system reshapes the cartilage of the deformed ear into the desired curvature of a normal ear, correcting the deformity early in a child’s life and without surgery required.
Prominent Ears
Prominent ears, sometimes referred to as “lop-ear” or “cup ears,” are a deformity where the ears project more than the normal distance from the skull. Measured from the mid-portion of the ear back to the skull behind the ear, projection should be between 15 to 18 millimeters in a 5-year-old or adult individual. Overprojection of the ear may be secondary to an increase in the angle the ear cartilage takes from its junction with the ear canal and skull, an excess of conchal cartilage, or an absence of the antihelical fold. Combinations of these causes frequently occur.
Constricted Ear
The constricted ear deformity is characterized by partial absence of skin and cartilage which involves the helical rim, scapha, and/or concha. In its simplest form, a lidding of the superior helical rim is present. The tilting-over of the helical rim is secondary to a tightening and deficiency in the anterior skin between the scapha and rim.
Microtia
Microtia is characterized as the absence of the majority of the pinna. A vestige of the pinna or auricle remains as a vertically-oriented attachment, and the earlobe persists as the only identifiable structure. The external auditory canal and tragus is generally absent. Associated with the absence of the external canal are deformities within the middle ear and absence of the tympanic membrane. For these reasons, children with microtia have varying degrees of hearing loss. Typically, the hearing loss is conductive in nature as opposed to neurogenic.
Anotia
Anotia is a very rare deformity characterized by total absence of the pinna. There is no lobule, microtic vestige, or canal. The hairline typically drops across the zone where the ear would normally appear.