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Comparing Cephaloauricular and Scaphaconchal Angles in Prominent Ear Patients and Control Subjects

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Abstract

Approximately 5% of 1-year-old children have prominent ears. The most common findings are underdevelopment or lack of the antihelical fold, overdevelopment of the concha, a scapha-conchal angle greater than 130°, and a protruding lobule. This study compared the cephaloauricular and scaphaconchal angles of 15 patients with prominent ears and 15 patients in a control group. Alginate was used to create a mold of each patient’s right ear. Afterward the molds were cut transversally for measurement of the angles. The first cut was made at the middle of the ear’s cephalocaudal length. The second cut was made in the superior piece midway between the first cut and the superior extremity of the ear. The cephaloauricular angle was defined as the intersection of a straight line running through the tragus insertion and the lateral portion of the mastoid region with a straight line that running through the tragus and the middle of the helix. The scaphaconchal angle was obtained in the second cut by measurement of the angles formed by these two structures molded in the posterior aspect of the ear. The Student’s t test was used for statistical analysis. The average cephaloauricular angle was 47.7° for the study group and 31.1° for the control group. The average scaphaconchal angle was 132.6° for the study group and 106.7° for the control group. This study presents a new method for evaluating the angles of the ear, confirming that both measured angles (cephaloauricular and scaphaconchal) are greater in patients with prominent ears (p < 0.005).

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Acknowledgment

As a medical student, Maria Elize Rocha Sanchez received grants from Federal University of Paraná (UFPR/TN).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Plastic Surgery, Federal University of Paraná, R. General Carneiro, 181, 9°, Andar Hospital de Clínicas, UFPR Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, CEP 80060-900

    R. da Silva Freitas, M. E. R. Sanchez, M. S. Manzotti, F. Baras, M. C. C. Ono & G. A. de Oliveira e Cruz

  2. Section of Plastic Surgery, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    R. da Silva Freitas

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  1. R. da Silva Freitas
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  2. M. E. R. Sanchez
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  3. M. S. Manzotti
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  4. F. Baras
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  5. M. C. C. Ono
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  6. G. A. de Oliveira e Cruz
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Correspondence to R. da Silva Freitas.

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da Silva Freitas, R., Sanchez, M.E.R., Manzotti, M.S. et al. Comparing Cephaloauricular and Scaphaconchal Angles in Prominent Ear Patients and Control Subjects. Aesth Plast Surg 32, 620–623 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00266-008-9160-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00266-008-9160-8

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