A Comparative Study of Elongation of Earlobe Following Two Different Modalities for Repair of Posttraumatic Split of Earlobe: Simple Side-to-Side Closure and Closure with Anterior Posterior Flap Modification

CONTEXT: Ear piercing is a common practice in women seen in the Asian and African subcontinents. Traumatic elongation of ear lobe cleft is seen following long-standing use of heavy jewellery on the ear, or a tug on the earring. These inadvertent tears of the lobe have resulted in patients seeking earlobe repairs, which are routinely performed as an outpatient procedure. Various surgical methods exist for earlobe repair from the simple closure to modified flaps and Z-plasty. Certain methods with excessive tissue loss can result in elongation of the earlobe postprocedure. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to compare the elongation of earlobe post repair with simple side-to-side closure versus closure with anterior–posterior flap modification. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A cohort study conducted at the outpatient department in a tertiary care hospital of Mumbai. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 30 women with bilateral, equal, or almost equal earlobe clefts were enrolled in this study. After informed consent, simple side-to-side closure was performed on one earlobe and closure with anterior–posterior flap modification was carried out on the other side in the same patient under strict aseptic precautions. Patients were followed up two weekly till 12 weeks postoperative for any possible elongation of earlobe. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS, IBM, New York, USA) software package for windows, version 20.0. Quantitative and qualitative variables were presented as mean ±standard deviation (SD) and as frequency with percentages. The comparison was done with paired t-test. RESULTS: It was seen that earlobe repairs led to significant elongation of the lobe with simple closure, which did not occur with flap modification irrespective of cleft sizes. CONCLUSION: It is imperative to choose a correct method to avoid postprocedure elongation of earlobe.