A Patient With Cryptotia Corrected With Intraoperative Tissue Expansion and Superior Auricular Muscle Transfer Through a Small Hairline Incision.

ABSTRACT

Cryptotia is a relatively common auricular congenital anomaly in Asia. Nonsurgical molding is easy in infancy. However, surgical correction is often necessary after infancy. The authors report a case of cryptotia in which intraoperative tissue expansion and superior auricular muscle transfer were performed through a small incision at the hairline with good results. The patient is a 7-year-old girl. Three years after the operation, successful results were obtained. This method is advantageous as the procedure is simple, risk of relapse can be reduced by also treating the auricular muscle, and scarring is relatively inconspicuous. In addition, it is possible to switch to another technique when the improvement is poor.