AURICULAR PROTHESES
When the injury has resulted in complete loss of the organ or so much of it that its remaining stump will not permit of otoplasty, protheses or artificial ears or parts of ears may be employed to render the patient less unsightly. These protheses are usually made of aluminum, papier maché, or rubber, and painted to match the good ear. They are attached with a special kind of gum, termed zinc-leim, which makers of such protheses furnish, or are held by metal springs, which are inserted under strips or bridges of skin surgically created for the purpose. The esthetic effect is surprisingly good in most cases.
COLOBOMA
A very common injury observed in women is laceration of the lobule of the ear or ears, generally due to the wearing of heavy earrings, which gradually cut their way through the tissues. Coloboma may be occasioned by the forcible tearing out of the earrings; it has also been found to be congenital in rare cases.
The simplest method for correcting this deformity is to cut away both cicatrized edges of the defect by the aid of the angular scissors, exposing fully the width of the lobular tissue on both sides ([Fig. 116]), as the cicatricial edges are likely to be thinner than the lobule proper, and if brought together would leave a depression along the line of union. The freshened cut surfaces are brought together with fine silk sutures, an inferior one being taken in the outer border, so as to establish perfect coaptation at this point ([Fig. 117]).
The objection to the above operation is that invariably owing to the resultant contraction a notch is formed at the union of the angles of the freshened wound. To avoid this the operation shown in [Fig. 118] is to be employed (Greene).
Fig. 116.—Correction of Lobular Defect.