Last July 2018, the ISAPS News which was entirely dedicated to Otoplasty decided to include an article of mine on Otoplasty in children.
ISAPS News is the official magazine of the InternationalSociety of Aesthetics Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) and its coordinators include some of the best plastic surgeons in the world.
As you can imagine, it was an honor for me to have my article on otoplasty in children and adolescents included.
This work included a small compilation of some of the cases I have performed side by side with my colleague Dr. Eva López and Dr. Enrique Salmerón, at the Pediatric Plastic Surgery Unit of the Hospital La Fe in Valencia (Spain) where we work.
Otoplasty in adolescents and children is one of the most common plastic surgeries in our unit. In fact, my case history, after almost 20 years of work at Hospital La Fe, includes almost 2,000 patients!
The article focuses only on the 356 cases we served between 2012 and 2016.
Jug ears or protruding ears is a very common pathology in childhood. Although it does not cause functional problems, it generates a series of psychological problems that can affect their self-esteem and their relationship with their environment.
Fortunately, otoplasty in children is a surgical procedure included in the Social Security services portfolio of most of the autonomous communities in Spain.
At La Fe we perform otoplasty in children from the age of 6-7 years, age at which it is considered that the ears have developed between 80 and 90%. The age limit for otoplasty in adolescents in our hospital is 15 years.
Although it is the parents who bring the children to our office, it is important to note that we always interview them with the children to make sure they understand the process.
The rejection of their environment and the problems this generates for them are the reasons they transmit to us the most. Since they are minors, we are especially careful when dealing with their cases.
Otoplasty surgery in children and adolescents is similar to that performed in adults. All cases were performed under general anesthesia. The surgeries lasted between 35 and 50 minutes and we discharged the patients between 4 and 6 hours after the surgery.
In the article I explain the objectives of otoplasty as described by Dr. McDowell in his day, as well as the different techniques we use along with a conclusion based on the results of these more than 300 cases.
You can download the ISAPS News at this link. My article on otoplasty in adolescents and children appears on page 42.
I hope you find it interesting!
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