What are the causes of baby's ear deformities?

Every baby is an angel to his parents. Besides being very cute, they are also the testimony of their parents' love. However, some babies are born with certain defects due to certain reasons, such as ear deformities, which makes their parents very anxious. In addition to affecting the baby's appearance, ear deformity can also affect the baby's hearing. So what are the causes of baby's ear deformities?

1. What to do if your baby has ear deformity

1. External ear reconstruction

1. Timing of surgery: The timing of ear reconstruction surgery is very important and is one of the main determining factors for achieving ideal surgical results. We believe that considering the development of costal cartilage, auricle and psychological factors, 9, 10 and 11 years old are the best ages for ear reconstruction.

2. Reconstruction method: Ear reconstruction usually requires 2 to 3 operations. There are two specific methods. One is called the Brent method. Brent was an American doctor. Later, Japanese doctor Nagata made major technical improvements. This method is the most widely used and popular method in the world. This method does not require skin expansion.

The other is the skin expansion method, which usually requires three operations. During the first operation, a 50-80 ml water bag (i.e., skin and soft tissue expander) is implanted in the mastoid area behind the residual ear, and the hospital stay is about 4 days. 7 days after surgery

Start injecting normal saline solution on the day, and inject water every other day. It takes about 1 month to fill up with 50-80ml of normal saline solution. After the injection is completed, rest for 1 month before coming to the hospital for the second operation.

2. Hearing reconstruction

For patients with bilateral microtia and external auditory canal atresia, external auditory canal plasty surgery to improve hearing can be considered. However, for patients with unilateral microtia, my experience is to perform partial external auditory canal reconstruction with a depth of about 1 cm, without entering the middle ear cavity, and try to cover it with a local skin flap turned inward.

2. 3 reasons for ear deformity in children

1. Embryology

The pinnae originate from the embryonic first branchial arch (mandibular arch) and second branchial arch (hyoid arch). During the 5th week of the embryo, part of the branchial arch will develop into the auricle, and the auricle will be fully developed between the 5th and 9th weeks of the embryo. The six hillocks proliferate and fuse to form the convex auricle, and the first branchial cleft is sunken inward to form the external auditory canal. During the development stage of the auricle, the embryo is affected by genetic or external factors and is prone to various developmental malformations of the auricle.

2. Genetics

Congenital microtia can occur alone or as part of a syndrome, common syndromes include Treacher Collins syndrome, Goldenhar

syndrome, Nagar syndrome, Miller syndrome.

The location and identification of the susceptible gene for congenital microtia is a hot topic and difficulty in current research, but there are no research results so far.

3. Epidemiology

The incidence of congenital microtia varies in literature reports and is related to both race and region. The latest report shows that the incidence rate in our country is 5.18/10000. It is more common in males than in females (2:1), with right-sided deformities being more common and bilateral deformities accounting for about 10%.

The cause of microtia is still unclear. It is generally believed to be the result of the combined effects of environmental and genetic factors. Among the environmental factors, viral colds in the mother's early pregnancy, severe pregnancy reactions, and toxic substances in home decoration are all possible factors that may cause microtia. The genetic incidence rate of patients with a family history of microtia is approximately 2.9%.

-33.8%.

3. What are the symptoms of congenital ear malformations?

Congenital ear malformations can be diagnosed at a glance. If they are accompanied by middle or inner ear malformations, an auditory examination is needed to determine the nature of the deafness. CT scans can be used to understand the malformations of the ear canal and middle ear. What are the symptoms of congenital ear malformations?

The clinical features of patients with congenital microtia mainly involve the auricle, external auditory canal and middle ear, while the inner ear is often not affected. According to the degree of deformity, the most commonly used clinical classification is three types:

Grade I: The size and shape of the auricle change, but the important surface landmarks of the auricle remain, the external auditory canal is narrow, and in severe cases, the external auditory canal is closed;

Grade II: The most typical, with only the vertically positioned helix, sausage-shaped, and the external auditory canal closed;

Grade III: Only a mass of skin and cartilage remains. In severe cases, the ear is missing.

There are more than ten types of middle ear developmental disorders in patients with congenital microtia, mainly developmental malformations of the auditory ossicles, tympanic muscles and facial nerves, and they are closely related to the severity of the external ear deformity. Congenital external ear malformations can manifest as one of the clinical symptoms of a sequence in severe cases, such as the eye-ear-spinal sequence.

In addition to microtia, patients also suffer from hemifacial microsomia (hypoplasia of the temporal bones, maxilla or mandible), soft tissue malformations (preauricular growths or macrostomia), eyelid coloboma (eyelid coloboma, palpebral conjunctival epithelial cyst), spinal malformations, and congenital kidney and heart defects.