Objective: To present and test a new method for conservative correction of prominent pinnae in children aged between 2 weeks and 5.5 years.
Design: Prospective study on 56 pinnae from 44 children aged between 0.25 and 5.5 years, treated with the Auri method, which consists of a clip and a strip. The clip is a specially designed plastic clamp used during the night for an average of 4.3 hours per night. It squeezes the cartilage and makes a fold at the place of the missing anthelix. The strip is a double adhesive fixture used during daytime for an average of 8.9 hours per day. To test the efficiency of the treatment objective (thickness and stiffness of the pinna, cephaloauricular distance, and photo-documentation) and subjective (investigators' and parents' judgment of the shape and grade of the correction of the pinnae) parameters have been applied.
Results: Of the children, 38 (86%) achieved good to fair correction of their pinnae. Of the parents, all 44 (100%) were satisfied with the treatment and 35 (80%) reported good to fair correction of their child's pinnae. Slight complications were observed in 13 children (30%): 10 (23%) had temporary irritation of the skin of the pinna and 3 (7%) had slight temporary squeeze marks of the pinnae. Of the 44 children, 31 were evaluated 10 months after completing treatment, and the pinnae of 38 children (86%) maintained their corrected shape.
Conclusions: Correction of the prominent pinna can be done by the new nonsurgical Auri method in children aged between 0.25 and 5.5 years, which provided good to fair results in 89% of pinnae in this study. The method is efficient in the short term and easy to use by the parents, but it requires long-term motivation of the parents as well as the child. The child can be treated at early age, avoiding psychosocial and cosmetic problems during school age.