The Mustardé technique is an otoplastic surgery (

otoplasty Otoplasty (, , "ear" + , , "to shape") is a procedure for correcting the deformities and defects of the Pinna (anatomy), auricle (Ear, external ear), whether these defects are congenital defect, congenital conditions (e.g. microtia, anotia, etc.) o ...

) for pinning protruding ears. The method belongs together with the Stenström and Converse methods to the traditional otoplasties. It is

antihelix The antihelix (anthelix) is a part of the visible ear; the pinna. The antihelix is a curved prominence of cartilage parallel with and in front of the helix on the pinna. The antihelix divides above into two ''legs'' or crura; the ''crura anti ...

plastic surgery performed with the

suturing A surgical suture, also known as a stitch or stitches, is a medical device used to hold Tissue (biology), body tissues together and approximate wound edges after an injury or surgery. Application generally involves using a Sewing needle, needle w ...

technique.

History

The technique of this surgery was first described by Mustardé in 1960. Further publications by him appeared in 1963 and 1967.

Surgical procedure

The Mustardé technique involves making a long incision on the back of the ear and removing a strip of skin. The skin is dissected from the

cartilage Cartilage is a resilient and smooth type of connective tissue. Semi-transparent and non-porous, it is usually covered by a tough and fibrous membrane called perichondrium. In tetrapods, it covers and protects the ends of long bones at the joints ...

between he edge of the ear (''

helix A helix (; ) is a shape like a cylindrical coil spring or the thread of a machine screw. It is a type of smooth space curve with tangent lines at a constant angle to a fixed axis. Helices are important in biology, as the DNA molecule is for ...

'') and the place where the ear is attached to the head ('' sulcus posterior''), thus exposing the cartilage on the back of the ear. It is therefore assigned to the open ear pinning methods. The

fold is bent more strongly or formed anew with mattress sutures that are anchored in the cartilage. The cartilage is left completely intact, that is, it is not scored, cut or excised as in the ear pinning technique of Stenström, Converse and versions deriving from these. The skin is then closed with sutures and sometimes a drainage tube is inserted for 1 to 2 days. A head bandage is applied for 1 or 2 weeks, or longer in exceptional cases. The Mustardé ear pinning surgery is, according to the opinion of Weerda Weerda, H. (2007). Surgery of the Auricle. Thieme Medical Publishers, not suitable for all ears. A similar method, by which the cartilage is left intact, is the so-called

Stitch method The Merck stitch method is a minimally invasive procedure for pinning protruding ears, developed by W. H. Merck.Merck, W.H. (2013). "Dr Merck’s stitch method. A closed minimally invasive procedure for correction of protruding ears (Die Fadenmet ...

. But the ear is not cut open with the stitch method, which is why it belongs to the closed and minimally invasive otoplasties.

Complications

Bleeding, ear lying too close to the head, stronger asymmetry of the ear distances, hypertrophic scar,

keloid Keloid, also known as keloid disorder and keloidal scar, is the formation of a type of scar which, depending on its maturity, is composed mainly of either type III (early) or type I (late) collagen. It is a result of an overgrowth of granulation t ...

, pressure damage (

necrosis Necrosis () is a form of cell injury which results in the premature death of cells in living tissue by autolysis. The term "necrosis" came about in the mid-19th century and is commonly attributed to German pathologist Rudolf Virchow, who i ...

) caused by the bandage, recurrence.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mustarde technique Ear surgery