Expert: 3-7 days after birth is the "golden treatment period", don't miss it

Jimu News

2024-04-30 22:22Published on the official account of Hubei Chutian Metropolis Daily

Jimu News reporter Yan Wen

Correspondents: Qin Si, Huang Jieying, Zhou Xuhong

A few days ago, in an operating room of Hubei Provincial Maternal and Child Health Hospital, otolaryngologists were nervously carving the ears of a 7-day-old baby. The newborn's ears were a little different – the left ear rolled forward, the right ear rolled down inward, and more worryingly, the newborn hearing screening failed. But after the careful surgery of the experts, not only did the baby's ears be reshaped, but also allowed him to successfully pass the hearing review.

Liao Dahong examines children with ear deformities

Liao Dahong operated on a child with ear deformity

Back one day at the end of March, Ms. Yue welcomed her baby boy with joy. However, when the family first looked closely at the baby, they noticed that his ears were different - the upper part of the left ear was constricted forward, while the upper part of the right ear showed a downward inward posture, like a pair of "curled" ears. Subsequent hearing screening, the baby failed to pass.

Anxious, Ms. Yue and her family sought medical treatment everywhere and finally chose the Hubei Provincial Maternal and Child Health Hospital. Liao Dahong, chief physician of the Department of Otolaryngology, conducted a detailed examination for the baby. Through ear fiber endoscopy, she found that the baby's right ear has a lop ear deformity, abnormal cartilage on the tragus, the height of the entire auricle is significantly reduced, and the left ear is a cup-shaped shape, the upper third is obviously abnormally developed, the external auditory canal has also become narrow, and the tympanic membrane is difficult to see. Dr. Liao Dahong diagnosed "congenital external ear malformation and stenosis of the external auditory canal".

Ear deformities in newborns

Faced with such a situation, Director Liao Dahong suggested that the baby's right ear should be corrected with a braces, but for the more serious left ear, urgent otoplasty surgery is required. Hearing the word "surgery" and thinking of the risk of such a baby who was only 6 days old, Ms. Yue and her husband felt tremendous pressure.

However, Dr. Liao Dahong patiently explained to them that the golden treatment period for ear deformity surgery is 3-7 days after the baby is born, and the best effect will be achieved by intervening at this time. She also shared her previous successful surgery cases, which gradually dispelled the concerns of parents.

The next day's surgery was performed by Dr. Liao Dahong. The skin of newborns is as thin as a cicada's wings, and the cartilage tissue is extremely delicate. After making a small incision of about 1 cm in front of the ear, Director Liao found that the situation was more complicated than expected - the cartilage was almost imperceptible. But with her years of clinical experience and keen intuition, she quickly adjusted the surgical plan and successfully found the alien cartilage as thin as a cicada's wing, and skillfully integrated it.

After the operation, Dr. Liao Dahong also carefully formulated a hearing rehabilitation treatment plan for the baby's right ear. On April 30, the baby's left ear wound healed very well when he returned to the clinic three weeks after surgery, and his right ear, which was wearing an orthosis, was back to its normal shape. What's even more exciting is that the baby has successfully passed the hearing screening in both ears this time.

Dr. Liao reminds all parents that abnormal ear appearance is not just an aesthetic issue, but may also be closely related to hearing. She stressed that parents should seek professional help as soon as they notice an abnormality in their newborn's ears. Because there is a "golden treatment time" for correcting ear deformities, that is, 3-7 days after the baby is born. During this time period, when the baby's estrogen levels are high, cartilage tissue is most likely to form, and otoplasty is the most effective.

(Photo courtesy of Hubei Provincial Maternal and Child Health Hospital)

(Source: Jimu News)

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