Otoplasty: an analysis of technique over a 33-year period.

Objective: To compare the merits of otoplasty technique with a diverse patient population as experienced spanning a period greater 30 years.

Study Design: A review of a series of otoplasty cases that occurred in two distinctly different clinical settings during a 33-year period.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of 211 patients undergoing otoplasty from 1969 to 1982 in a military hospital setting was compared with 118 patients receiving otoplasty from 1982 to 2002 in a university/private practice setting. The patient population consisted of 180 adults and 149 children.

Results: Otoplasty patients in the military setting were primarily adults, whereas those in the university/private practice setting were primarily children. In the adult population, 98.9% of patients required use of lateral conchal cartilage resection combined with a mattress suture technique. In the pediatric population, all patients required use of a mattress suture technique and in 83.2% of selected cases limited lateral conchal cartilage resection was required.

Conclusion: Otoplasty technique involving lateral conchal cartilage resection, mattress suture fixation, or a combination of both is applicable to diverse patient populations.