Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Microtia is a relatively serious physical deformity, not only influences patients’ appearance, but also brings heavy psychometrics burden to patients and their families. Now, the better treatments are auricular reconstruction.
OBJECTIVE: To review the research progresses on improvement and development of auricular reconstruction in recent years, providing better experience and research direction for clinical treatment.
METHODS: A computer online search was performed to find papers published between January 1990 and December 2010 in databases of CNKI and PubMed. The keywords in the title and abstract were “microtia; auricular reconstruction; auricular framework” in Chinese and English. Related articles published recently or published in authoritative magazines were preferred. According to the inclusion criteria, 30 articles were reviewed.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Auricular reconstruction is one of the most difficult and most challenging plastic surgery in plastic surgery field, one of the most important methods of treatment to improve the patient appearance, adjust psychology, restore confidence and improve the quality of life of the patients. Through realizing the improvement and progress of the latest auricular reconstruction, looking for more suitable as auricle cartilaginous framework material is still one of the ear urgent problems. The ideal auricular reconstruction to provide perfect lifelike appearance and improve hearing function is the ultimate goal of microtia treatment.