A retrospective study of patient outcomes and satisfaction following pinnaplasty

Abstract

Nicholas Hope,1 Caroline P Smith,1 Jim R Cullen,2 Neil McCluney2 1Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency, Belfast, 2Head and Neck Unit, Altnagelvin Area Hospital, Derry, Northern Ireland, UK Introduction: Up to 5% of all children have prominent ears. Psychological distress and bullying adversely affect these children and can cause significant social exclusion. In times of austerity, cosmetic procedures such as surgical correction of prominent ears are felt to be an unnecessary cost to the health service. Materials and methods: A retrospective case note review of all patients undergoing pinnaplasty was undertaken. Postoperative outcomes were compared against the Royal College of Surgeons of England standards. The Glasgow Benefit Inventory, a validated post-intervention questionnaire, was then posted out to all patients. Results: A total of 72 patients were identified. Average age at procedure was 13 years. Eleven patients were above the age of 19 years. Twenty-eight patients were male and forty-four female. Sixty-two cases underwent bilateral pinnaplasty. No patients developed hematoma, and there were no readmissions within 30 days of surgery. Twenty-nine patients responded to the questionnaire (40%), of whom 27 reported a positive impact on their psychosocial well-being with a mean score of 36. Conclusion: Pinnaplasty offers patients an opportunity to alleviate the psychological distress of bullying and harassment secondary to the appearance of prominent ears. Keywords: bullying, Glasgow Benefit Inventory, hematomas, prominent ears, psychological distress

Keywords

• Otoplasty Patient outcome Patient satisfaction Protruding ear Pinnaplasty Bat ear Quality of life