Surgical management of the congenital atresia of the ear

This study presents a 15 year experience of surgical treatment in 47 patients with congenital atresia of the ear. Emphasizing on the importance of pre-surgical evaluation of the patients for a better prognostic indicator. The ages of 40 patients were between 5-15 years. 24 patients (61%) had complete atresia and 23 (49%) incomplete. 27 patients (57%) with bilateral disease and 20 (43%) unilateral. Auditory test before surgery showed a conductive hearing loss of approximately 60 decibels (dB) and one case with total sensorineural hearing loss. There was an auditory average gain of 28.3 dB. 3 patients (6.4%) had associated cholesteatoma. Complications presented: Closure of the external auditory canal in 6 patients (12.7%), and facial nerve paralysis in 2 patients with recovery. The different surgical technics are described. In conclusion, for this type of surgery, combination between the otologist and plastic surgeon should be done for better results.