Treatment Options For Microtia
The Microtia Ear
Microtia is a congenital ear deformity affecting the external ear. Microtia affects about 1 in 8,000 children, so it not a common birth defect, but neither is it rare. Microtia can affect either one or both ears, but the majority of children, have only one ear affected. Microtia literally means "Little Ear." In many cases, the outer ear is so underdeveloped that the description is apt. But, Microtia can also affect the ear canal, ear drum and ear bones. When the ear structure is affected in addition to the outer ear, Atresia Microtia can be diagnosed. Microtia is commonly accompanied by Atresia because the inner and outer ears develop together. The appearance of the outer ear makes diagnosing Microtia fairly easy. Diagnosing the hearing loss, however, requires testing.
Hearing Loss
Children born with Microtia are tested at birth for hearing loss. Hearing loss usually accompanies Microtia because sound doesn't have an adequate pathway to the inner ear. Parents should keep the results of this hearing test as a baseline because as the child grows, the ear's shape changes and so, too, the ability to hear could change. Because Microtia typically affects only one ear, a complete hearing loss is rare. In most cases, some form of hearing aid and speech therapy is very affective.
Microtia Treatments
Because Microtia causes outer ear deformity, medical treatment tries to reshape the outer ear. The main methods of ear reshaping include ear prosthesis, rib cartilage grafts, and implants. It's best to wait until the child is older than six before treatment begins. The child must be mature enough to co-operate with the treatment, and the child's ear must be grown enough to make the surgery useful.
An ear prosthesis is built out of flesh-colored silicone. With today's technology, the ear prosthesis looks like a realistic ear. In fact, it can look more real than the results from ear-reshaping surgery. An ear prosthesis requires only a few minutes of care each day. The only disadvantages to the prosthesis are the child's knowledge that the ear isn't real and the small amount of care it requires. To combat the social and emotional effects of Microtia, parents sometimes fit their children prosthesis before they start kindergarten.
Surgeons often graft pieces of the child's own rib cartilage to the Microtia ear and reshape it to look like a more normal ear. The child's cartilage then continues to grow as the child grows. This allows the ear graft to grown into an adult size with the child.
Ear implants require reconstructive surgery. This surgery is often done on an outpatient basis. The child's tissue is grown into a polyethylene plastic implant. The surgeon then constructs the new ear, usually in one surgery. Minor adjustments are made a few months later in a second surgery, if they are necessary. The advantage to the rib cartilage graft and the ear implant is that they both use the child's own tissue.
Because is not particularly rare, doctors and surgeons have a great deal of knowledge and experience with this birth defect. With that experience and today's medical advances, parents can rest assured that their children born with Microtia can live active lives.
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