EFFECT OF POSTAURICULAR INCISION ON AURICLE PROTRUSION: ONE-YEAR EXPERIENCE
1SBÜ Mehmet Akif Inan Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Kulak Burun Boğaz, Şanlıurfa, Turkey2Şanlıurfa Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Kulak Burun Boğaz, Şanlıurfa, Turkey
3Mersin Şehir Hastanesi, Kulak Burun Boğaz, Mersin, Turkey Objective: In this study, we aimed to determine whether auricle protrusion at three different levels (superior, middle and inferior) of patients who underwent ear surgery with the postauricular incision resulted in any significant changes compared to the healthy ear of the same patients.
Methods: All cases in which the retroauricular/postauricular incision was performed during any type of ear surgery at the Otorhinolaryngology Clinic of Şanlıurfa Mehmet Akif İnan Training and Research Hospital between June 2019 and June 2020 were included in the study. The longest distance between the auricle and the mastoid skin was recorded in millimeters from the superior, middle and inferior points. All three measurements were performed in both operated and non-operated ears at the postoperative third month.
Results: Of the 61 patients evaluated in the study, 52.5% were male (n = 32) and 47.5% were female (n = 29). The mean age of the patients was 43.15 ± 9.98 years. The mean protrusion distances of the operated and non-operated ears of the patients were 11.10 ± 3.17 and 11.79 ± 1.99, respectively for the superior point, 15.02 ± 4.19 and 15.82 ± 2.62, respectively for the middle point, and 14.34 ± 4.71 and 15.38 ± 3.31 mm, respectively for the inferior point. The superior, middle and inferior protrusions of the operated and non-operated ears were similar (p > 0.05).
Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated no difference between the patients" operated and non-operated ears in terms of auricle protrusion. In future studies, further useful findings can be obtained by performing preoperative measurements and comparing them with postoperative values.
Keywords : Ear Surgery, Postauricular Incision, Auricle Protrusion, Prominent Ear