It is often said that the eyes are the window to the soul, and the ears are the entrance to the soul.
Many babies are born with microtia, and although parents are anxious to repair it, they do not know which age is suitable for correction because they do not know about microtia, resulting in children missing the best age for repair.
When they grow up, because of deformed ears, they will be discriminated against and looked at differently in school, work, marriage and other aspects, which may cause an inferiority complex, so if they still have to receive ear deformity correction when they become adults, why not repair microtia at the best repair age?
When is the best time to recreate ears?
6-12 years old is the ideal age for surgery for Microtia!
Usually, children can go to the hospital for microtia surgery at the age of 6 for two reasons:
One is the difference in material
Now, when performing ear reconstruction on the mainland, the most commonly used is autologous rib cartilage. Children's ears are about 85% of that of adults at age 3 and about 95% of adults' ears at age 6.
The ears of 6-year-olds have ribs that are length, thickness and hardness that meet the requirements for making ears.
If the child is too young and does not have enough rib cartilage, the reconstructed ear brace should be smaller than the healthy ear; Moreover, the cartilage is not strong enough to support an erected ear.
As we age, more and more raw materials are required to carve ear pads from rib cartilage, and the ear pads made will become more and more like a person's ear pads. Of course, there are also babies whose bones develop faster, which can shorten the time for surgery.
The second is the patient's mentality
Ear reconstruction surgery at the age of 6 and 7 years old brings less mental burden to children and parents than other ages, and the reconstructed ear is basically symmetrical with the healthy ear, and as the child grows and recovers enough to achieve the effect of fake reality, it will not affect the child's learning and life.
And children receive ear reconstruction between the ages of 6 and 12, which is generally considered the golden age in the industry, but this does not mean that children of other ages are not acceptable, just not recommended!
Because if you have ear reconstruction at an older age, you will not be good enough for post-operative care and your recovery ability will not be as good as when you were young; If it is lower than this age, the cooperation of postoperative care is not enough, which may affect the effect of later recovery, and in terms of repairing the external auditory canal, the younger it is, the better the regeneration function of skin muscle tissue, and the ear will have a tendency to recover from the original deformity, this strong recurrence instinct affects the effect of surgical shaping and shaping, and the greater the possibility of re-atresia after surgery.