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The current methods used for auricular reconstruction in the children born with microtia are mainly divided into two groups as the artificial "ALLOPLASTIC" procedures, which primarily use artificial materials, and the natural "AUTOLOGOUS" methods, in which the ear is reconstructed using patients own tissues.
In this method, which is still the gold standard for the auricular reconstruction in microtia patients, the ear is reconstructed by using the patients own cartilage and skin with no risk of tissue rejection. There are only a few experts in the world who can properly perform this method since it requires special skills and experience. With a well-constructed auricle with autologous tissues, your children can lead a normal life without requiring any special care. The reconstructed ear will have a normal sensation and growth potential; it will be possible to sleep on the new ear after the healing. Today, there is no alternative solution that can replace an auricle constructed from a persons own tissues yet.
Auricular implants made of polypropylene, an alloplastic substance that is foreign to the human body, will sooner or later run the risk of being rejected and come out of the body due to foreign body reaction and infections. Besides the risk of breakage, the ears made with these hard and inelastic, plastic-like implants are very uncomfortable, even when touched, and the patients can not being able to sleep over the implanted ear for life. Despite the continuous support and commercial advertisements of the companies that have been producing and marketing these implants for more than 20 years, these implants are still not accepted by the scientific community and are not widely used.
There are different models of ear prostheses that can be attached to the skin with adhesive or mounted to the bone. These artificial auricles, which are made of materials such as silicone or acrylic, need to be removed every day before going to bed and put on again in the morning. This means that the patient has to face his deformity over and over again, every day. Therefore, they are the last option to be preferred. Prostheses are not particularly suitable for children, as they may fall during games and sports activities. These prostheses, which change color over time, wear out, have no sense and vitality, can only be used in patients where it is no longer possible to make ears with their own tissues due to trauma or previous unsuccessful surgeries, and in elderly patients who cannot undergo surgery due to health problems.
As a physician and father, throughout my professional life, I always asked myself the same question , "WOULD I PERFORM THIS SURGERY IF THE PATIENT WAS MY OWN CHILD?" when making decisions about the surgeries that I will perform on pediatric patients. I have been a believer of this moral value all my professional life, and I have avoided applying practices, for which the effectiveness has not been proven by clinical studies, on my patients. When I consider the methods available today for the construction of the auricle from the same point of view, I decided not to use the auricle implants made from polypropylene, which is a petroleum-derived substance and for which serious side effects have been reported in unbiased clinical studies.
In order to create an alternative for ear reconstruction other than these artificial materials, we have been continuing our studies to construct an auricle by producing an "artificial cartilage" from stem cells in the laboratory for long years. However, the results of ear reconstructions performed by transplanting cartilage models produced in the laboratory are also not at the desired level yet…
IN THE CURRENT EAR RECONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES, THERE IS STILL NO ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION TO REPLACE AN AURICLE CONSTRUCTED WITH A PERSONS OWN TISSUES
