What is Microtia? Microtia occurs before a child is born. Microtia is a birth defect when a child is born missing an ear. Microtia means the absence of an ear. A child with microtia could be missing one ear or both ears. Microtia is more common in male children than female children. The chances that a child will be born with microtia are very small. Some studies say that out of seven thousand children that are born, only one will have microtia.
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Microtia only means that the external ear is missing, however microtia could also include the absence of the ear canal. Children with microtia most often having hearing loss, but the severity of the hearing loss varies with every case.
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Surgery can repair microtia by creating a synthetic external ear made from silicon. But, more effective is the reparation surgery that carves a replacement external ear from the rib-cartilage of the child. The advantage to doing this microtia surgery is that the external ear will grow along with the body and heal itself if cut. Another advantage of using this microtia type of surgery to replace the external ear with part of the child's own body, the external ear will match the skin and not stick out so much as the fake, silicon ear does. This second type of microtia surgery requires two very long surgery stages. The first stage is to take the cartilage from the child's rib and form an external ear from the cartilage. Then that cartilage formed into the external ear is placed under the skin of the microtia child patient where the external ear should be.
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Simply making an external ear to put into place of the child who suffers from microtia will not repair any hearing loss, nor will it open up the ear canal. The microtia surgery is mostly just for the self-confidence of the child so that they feel that they look more normal and fit in with their children peers.
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Microtia is not a common birth defect. Microtia is an un-common birth defect which doesn't effect very many children. Microtia is also known as congenital ear deformity. The surgery that repairs microtia, at least by making an external ear for the microtia patient is also known as ear reshaping.
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The first step to the microtia ear reshaping surgery is mentioned about. This first part of ear reshaping microtia surgery can take about seven hours. Once the external ear is placed under the skin of the patient the surgery area must heal which takes a child about six months to heal from the ear reshaping surgery. At this point the external ear lays very flat against the head since it is under the skin at the side of the microtia child's head. The second part of surgery simply raises the external ear from the skin to make it look more like a normal external ear. This part of the microtia reparation surgery also includes some ear reshaping. This surgery can take around four hours--a lot of surgery for a little child to go through.
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Simply making an external ear to put into place of the child who suffers from microtia will not repair any hearing loss, nor will it open up the ear canal. The microtia.... Learn more at Microtia and ear canal
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