AURICULAR APPENDAGES

Auricular appendages, skin tags, dermal appendages and cartilage are probably the most common malformation of the ear (1.5% of the population) (1).

• Often unilateral.
• Vary in size from sessile protuberances to polypoidal projections.
• Occur most commonly in the line of fusion of the mandibular and hyoid arches and less frequently in the fusion line of the maxillary process and mandibular arch (may be associated with melotia).
• They vary in size and may simulate the shape of the pinna.
• They may be associated with microtia or facial fissures.
• They are rarely associated with conductive or sensorineural hearing loss (which is usually ipsilateral) (2).

	Ear Appendages Unilateral. No associated syndrome. Normal chromosomes. Normal inner ear and external auditory canal.

REFERENCES

1. Altmann F. Malformations of the auricle and external auditory meatus. Arch Otolaryngol 1951;54:115.
2. Melnick M. The etiology of external ear malformations and its relation to abnormalities of the middle ear, inner ear and other organ systems. Birth Defects 1980;16:303.