The authors of this paper present a new technique for complex auricular reconstruction in a patient with a previous squamous cell carcinoma of the scalp, parotid and neck treated by surgery and postoperative radiotherapy. The patient presented a depression on the temporal area and a complete absence of the auricle, being prosthesis adaptation the first choice for restoration of the regional aesthetics. Instead of the traditional four-step process for fabrication of the prosthesis, the authors decided to use a new hybrid method consisting of the creation of a template of the healthy contralateral side, scanning it, mirroring the image and constructing a prosthesis using a 3D printer. The final steps of the process were adding coloured silicone layers to the artificial auricle and placing it over the defect using adhesives. The approach for reconstruction of facial defects is new, simple and non-expensive; a new path for restoration of complex facial defects is opened thanks to this new available technology.
Complex auricular reconstruction using a 3D printer
Reviewed by Eduardo Morera Serna
Prosthetic reconstruction of complicated auricular defects: use of a hybrid prosthetic fabrication technique.
CONTRIBUTOR
Eduardo Morera Serna
Hospital Universitario Son Espases, Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
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