Presentation and Management Outcome of Unilateral and Bilateral Prominent Ears with Standard Otoplasty Techniques

Objective: To determine the outcome of otoplasty in terms of a satisfactory cosmetic outcome and any postoperative complications. Methodology: This descriptive case series was carried out over a period of five years from January 2017 to December 2021 at the Burn and Trauma Center, Department of Plastic Surgery, Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar. Patients of all ages and genders who presented with prominent ears and underwent corrective procedures at our institute were included. Patients who were unwilling to undergo surgery or who did not consent to inclusion in the study were excluded. Patients with constricted ears, cryptotia, shell ears, and question mark ears were also excluded. Results: Out of 45 patients, 29 (64.44%) were females and 16 (35.55%) were males. Their ages ranged between 11-30 years, with a mean of 22.28±5.49 years. The anomaly was bilateral in 84.44% (n = 38) of the patients, while 15.55% (n=7) patients had unilateral defects. 57.7% (n=26) of the patients were unmarried, whereas 42.3% (n=19) were married. All the patients had satisfactory cosmetic outcomes. Various complications encountered included extrusion of sutures (n=3; 6.66%) and superficial wound infection (n=1; 2.22%). Conclusion: Correction of the prominent ears with the standard otoplasty techniques yields satisfactory cosmetic results. Lasting results can be achieved by combining different otoplasty techniques that are stable over time.