Postpartum splinting of ear deformities

doi:10.1136/bmj.39063.501377.BE

BMJ 2007;334:366-368 (17 February), doi:10.1136/bmj.39063.501377.BE

Practice

Postpartum splinting of ear deformities

Andrew J Lindford, clinical fellow, Shehan Hettiaratchy, specialist registrar, Fabrizio Schonauer, consultant

Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead RH19 3DZ

Correspondence to: S Hettiaratchy, Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Charing Cross Hospital, London W6 8RF shehan_h@hotmail.com

Postpartum splinting can completely correct congenital ear deformitiesand obviate the need for later surgery

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Congenital ear deformities are common and usually correctedsurgically in childhood. Ear deformities are often first noticedby parents or non-specialist personnel such as midwives, generalpractitioners, and health visitors. Splinting of ear deformitiesin the early neonatal period has been shown to be a safe andeffective non-surgical treatment.¹²³⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸ The splint is madefrom a wire core segment in a 6-French silastic tube and heldin place with adhesive skin closure strips. It is applied withno anaesthesia for three to four weeks.¹ We present three casesthat show how different congenital ear deformities can be treatednon-surgically, thereby obviating the need for surgery.

Case reports

Case 1: constricted ear
A male child was born at full term with bilateral constrictedears. No family history of ear deformity existed. In this deformity,the rim of the ear looks as if it has been tightened, ratherlike a purse string that has been pulled closed.¹⁹ We . . . [Full text of this article]

Case 2: Stahl's ear
Case 3: prominent ears

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Post-partum splinting - DIY concerns: David T Gault, et al.
bmj.com, 26 Feb 2007 [Full text]
Simple alternative to splintage of prominent ears: Kayvan Shokrollahi
bmj.com, 4 May 2008 [Full text]