Yes. The vast majority of patients with microtia and atresia (no ear canal) have moderate to severe conductive hearing loss. This means that because there is no ear canal, the sound cannot make it to the inner ear where the hearing nerve (almost always normal) is located. As a result, the sound has to rely on vibrations hitting the skull and going directly to the inner ear instead of going through the absent ear canal. A full explanation on hearing loss in patients with microtia is found on our “microtia hearing loss” section.

As previously stated, most patients need two to three surgeries to complete. If a child has microtia on both sides, then four surgeries are needed. In one-sided cases, the ear is completed in approximately 4-5 months. If both sides are affected, the ears are completed in approximately 4-6 months, depending on the circumstances. It is important to remember that the plastic polyethylene can take from 6 to 12 hours per ear, the cartilage technique lessens the anaesthesia time for your child.

Over the past 20 years (first surgery only), our patients have received an intraoperative epidural while they are asleep. The average pain is a 1 to 2 on a 10 pain scale. After surgery, most of our patients require no pain medication except for some tylenol with codeine by mouth. A pain pump is not used as some say. After the first surgery, the child goes home the next morning. After this procedure, all surgeries are outpatient and rarely require pain medication after the surgery.

Doctors do not fully understand the cause of microtia, although it is thought that it may be an artery that was giving the ear its blood supply that somehow became compressed or compromised. Interestingly, most microtia patients worldwide present with a very similar malformation (Microtia Grade 3). Although medications during pregnancy have been known to cause microtia, these are less likely since extreme care has been given to limit these during pregnancy.

Although genetic causes of microtia are being researched, it is not thought to be genetically inherited in most circumstances. There are syndromes associated with microtia such as Treacher Collins syndrome that does have a 50% chance that a child will be born with the disorder. There is usually no family history in most cases of microtia.