The correction of the prominent ear.

The prominent ear was first noted in the medical literature to be a social and psychological disturbance in 1881, when Ely suggested the first technique for the correction of this condition. Since Ely many surgeons have tried to find the best solution for this deformity; however, because of the specific cartilagenous architecture of the auricle, no one has yet designed an acceptable and secure technique. The successful reconstructured auricle should be the result of tackling all components of the deformity, namely, the absence of the antihelix and the aloofing of the concha from the mastoid. Mustarde's technique and the various anterior scoring methods do not deal with the conchal component of the protruded ear, nor do they give a fully satisfactory formation of the antihelix when one of these methods is used alone. This article presents the author's preferred technique for reconstructing the auricle, simultaneously using Mustarde's mattress sutures, Cochrane's anterior scoring of the antihelix, and the approximating of the concha to the mastoid.