Correction of congenital cleft ear lobes: optimal outcome with simple surgical approach

Congenital cleft ear lobe is a rare anomaly, even though the deformities of the ear as a whole are encountered commonly. The deformity results from the failure of fusion of hillocks 1 and 6 during embryonic life. The defective ear lobe carries immense aesthetic importance, especially in females. Several techniques have been used for the reconstruction of the ear lobule with this defect. But utilizing Z-plasty, one of the basic principles of reconstructive surgery, can result in an aesthetically pleasing lobule. The author presents here two such cases in which he could achieve satisfactory results using simple Z-plasty for the reconstruction of ear lobes. Congenital cleft ear lobe is a rare anomaly, even though the deformities of ear as a whole are encountered commonly. The deformity results from the failure of fusion of hillocks 1 and 6 during embryonic life. The defective ear lobe carries immense aesthetic importance, especially in females. Several techniques have been used for reconstruction of ear lobule with this defect. But utilizing Z-plasty, one of the basic principles of reconstructive surgery can result in an aesthetically pleasing lobule. The author presents here two such cases in which he could achieve satisfactory results using simple Z-plasty for reconstruction of ear lobes.