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Facial Plast Surg 2021; 37(03): 354-359
DOI: 10.1055/s-0040-1719101
Original Research

Burned Ear Reconstruction Using the Combination of an Expanded Postauricular Scar Skin Flap and a Postauricular Fascial Flap

Peipei Guo
1   The Seven Department, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College Plastic Surgery Hospital and Institute, Shijingshan District, Beijing, China
,
Bo Pan
1   The Seven Department, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College Plastic Surgery Hospital and Institute, Shijingshan District, Beijing, China
,
Haiyue Jiang
1   The Seven Department, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College Plastic Surgery Hospital and Institute, Shijingshan District, Beijing, China
,
Qinghua Yang
1   The Seven Department, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College Plastic Surgery Hospital and Institute, Shijingshan District, Beijing, China
,
Lin Lin
1   The Seven Department, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College Plastic Surgery Hospital and Institute, Shijingshan District, Beijing, China
› Author Affiliations Funding This study was supported by CAMS Innovation Fund for Medical Sciences (2016-12M-1-002), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81571863), and the Non-profit Central Research Institute Fund of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2018PT31051).
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Abstract

The external ear is highly vulnerable to burn injury due to its location and thin integument. Reconstruction of the external ear after burns is a major challenge to undertake, and surgeons face many problems, including excessive scar tissue, poor blood supply, a paucity of available skin, and a high infection rate, when designing an operative plan for patients with postburn auricular deformity. In this article, the authors describe their experience of using an expanded postauricular scar flap combined with a postauricular fascial flap as the coverage for the framework for subtotal and total ear reconstruction in 27 burned patients. Four patients developed expander exposure and two developed framework exposure, which were resolved with good results after further repair. After an average follow-up time of 6 months, all of the patients experienced very good cosmetic outcomes, high satisfaction, and low morbidity.

Keywords

burn injury - ear reconstruction - postauricular fascial flap - expanded postauricular scar skin flap

Ethical Approval

The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Plastic Surgery Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.




Publication History

Article published online:
21 October 2020

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