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The diagnosis and treatment of a variant type of auricular sinus: postauricular sinus

  • Otology
  • Published:
European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objectives

To make otolaryngologists aware of the variant types of auricular sinus, we have performed a systematic review of patient diagnoses and presented our operative experiences.

Methods

From 2009 to 2013 in Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, there was a total of 20 children with the variant type of auricular sinuses including the comprehensive group. Postauricular sinuses have pits located posterior to the imaginary vertical line that is tangent to the external auditory canal. Sinuses that penetrate the cartilage and cause postauricular swelling or skin defects characterize type 1 of the variant type, while sinuses that adhere to the cartilage and cause preauricular or auricular swelling or skin defects characterize type 2. Patients with pits both anterior to and posterior to the imaginary vertical line comprise the comprehensive group. The patients who had infected underwent auricular sinusectomy using a dual approach, with accurate fistula tracing and proper cartilage removal.

Results

Sixteen children who had infected sinus underwent surgery, while the other four were asymptomatic. Ten children (62.5%) of 16 patients were diagnosed as type 1 of the variant type, 2 (12.5%) as type 2. Four children (25%) were diagnosis as the comprehensive group. The asymptomatic could not be defined as the sinuses location were unknown. Sixteen children (100%) of 16 patients who underwent surgery had a history of misdiagnosis and treatment. These patients did not experience recurrence over a 5-year follow-up period.

Conclusion

The locations of pits and sinuses help to categorize the different types of auricular sinus. The effective method that we have described should be considered a viable way to reduce recurrence.

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Funding

This work was supported by the Guangdong Science and Technology Program (A020212097) and the Project funded by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2018M640863).

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Author notes

  1. Jiaqi Pang and Hao Xiong contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otolaryngology, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, 107 West Yan Jiang Road, Guangzhou, 510120, China

    Jiaqi Pang, Hao Xiong, Yaodong Xu, Qiuhong Huang & Yongkang Ou

  2. Institute of Hearing and Speech-Language Science, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510120, China

    Jiaqi Pang, Hao Xiong, Yaodong Xu, Qiuhong Huang & Yongkang Ou

  3. Department of Hearing and Speech Science, Xinhua College, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China

    Hao Xiong, Yaodong Xu & Yongkang Ou

  4. Department of Otolaryngology, The First Affiliated Hospital of the University of South China, Hengyang, 421000, China

    Qingyun Liao

Authors
  1. Jiaqi Pang
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  2. Hao Xiong
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  3. Qingyun Liao
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  4. Yaodong Xu
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  5. Qiuhong Huang
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  6. Yongkang Ou
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yongkang Ou.

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The authors have no conflict of interests.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Pang, J., Xiong, H., Liao, Q. et al. The diagnosis and treatment of a variant type of auricular sinus: postauricular sinus. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 276, 1961–1967 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-019-05431-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-019-05431-7

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