Surgery for Microtia Patients

Microtia is one of those child birth defect(s) that you don't hear much about because it isn't a common birth defect. However, microtia is a little more of a common birth defect than you might think. Microtia means that a child is born without an external ear or that the child has some other ear deformity involving the external ear and ear canal. Microtia means "congenital ear deformity".  rnI've seen one or two boys in my lifetime with microtia and I didn't even know it was microtia at the time. I just knew that the boys had some ear deformity and hearing loss, but now I have a name for it--microtia. Microtia can be repaired by a simple surgery the includes ear reshaping. The type of surgery that repairs microtia will always depend upon the child and the severity of the ear deformity. If a child simply has an external ear that is too small and has some ear deformity, the ear reshaping surgery for this type of microtia case may be much more simple that for the child that has no existing external ear because of microtia.  rnWith no external ear and doctor, repairing microtia, the congenital ear deformity, would have to build an entire ear and then secure the ear onto the side of the child's head through surgery. There are different options for this repairing surgery. One option would be for the microtia child to have a part of cartilage and skin removed from another part of the child's body and the doctor would then make an ear out of the child's own body tissues.  rnThis type of surgery to repair microtia would be move involved and more complicated as well as more surgery for the child to heal from. However, this type of microtia repair surgery will look more like a natural external ear. The ear will grow with the child because it is the child's living tissue and the ear will soon grow and be a part of the body. The ear will also be more the shade of skin of the child and the external ear would be able to change colors with the temperatures of the body just like a natural external ear.  rnThe other option for microtia surgery in making an external ear for the child is to make an external ear out of specialized plastics that look as close to the child's skin and complexion as possible. This external ear would require some ear reshaping when attached to the child's head. This microtia surgery is easier to recover from. The benefit of this microtia option is that the surgery is much easier. One thing to watch out for in this microtia ear reshaping surgery is if the child's body rejects the make-shift external ear. If the child's body rejects the plastic substances then healing from this surgery is much more difficult.  rnThere are many other things that can be done for microtia congenital ear deformity. Every child's microtia case is different.