The newborn butterfly project: a shortened treatment protocol for ear molding.

BACKGROUND: Secondary to circulating maternal estrogens, a baby's ear cartilage is unusually plastic during the first few weeks of life, providing an opportunity to correct ear deformities by molding. If molding is initiated during the first days of life with a more rigid molding system than previously described in the literature, the authors hypothesized that treatment time would be reduced and the correction rate would increase. METHODS: An interdisciplinary team identified and assessed all infants born with ear deformities at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The authors conducted a prospective, institutional review board-approved study on the first consecutive 100 infants identified. Parents were surveyed initially, immediately after treatment, and at 6 and 12 months. RESULTS: One hundred fifty-eight ears in 96 patients underwent ear molding using the EarWell Infant Ear Correction System. Eighty-two percent of the children had the device placed in the newborn nursery and 95 percent had it placed before 2 weeks of life. Average treatment time was 14 days, and 96 percent of the deformities were corrected. Complications were limited to mild pressure ulcerations. Ninety-nine percent of parents stated that they would have the procedure repeated. CONCLUSIONS: The molding period can be reduced from 6 to 8 weeks to 2 weeks by initiating molding during the first weeks of life and using a more secure and rigid device. Through an interdisciplinary approach, the authors were able to identify patients and to correct the deformity earlier and faster than has been previously published, eliminating the need for surgical correction in many children. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, IV.

The cosmetic Z-plasty: restoring and refining an old technique for neck rejuvenation.

Direct excision of the "turkey neck" skin fold with Z-plasty closure was introduced in the 1970s, but it has fallen out of favor in an era in which much emphasis is placed on minimizing visible scars. Although the newer techniques may effectively improve the aesthetic contour of the neck without leaving visible scars, they may not be optimal for selected patients who want a quick, "no-hassle" correction of their neck contour without changing the overall appearance of their face. We conducted a retrospective study of 50 patients--47 men and 3 women, aged 59 to 80 years (mean: 70)--who had undergone cosmetic Z-plasty performed by the senior author (A.N.L.) over a 9-year period. These patients either did not want or were not candidates for a face-lift or other procedure. Patients' charts were examined for demographic data, complications, and overall satisfaction with the procedure. In 46 of the 50 cases, the initial cosmetic result was acceptable to both the patient and the surgeon. The only complications were recurrent or residual areas of skin redundancy or dissatisfaction with the scar, but these were easily corrected with a second procedure using local anesthesia in the office setting. We conclude that cosmetic Z-plasty is a safe and effective means of correcting turkey neck deformity in patients who desire a procedure with a short operating time, a brief recovery period, a low complication rate, and a minimal effect on the overall appearance of their face. Although cosmetic Z-plasty is frequently considered to be antiquated, we believe refined versions of this procedure can still be of value to the plastic surgeon. In addition to describing our study results, we also describe in detail our surgical technique, including several contemporary refinements.