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Three-Dimensional Analysis of the Ear Morphology

  • Original Article
  • Facial Surgery
  • Published:
Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

For surgical treatment of the face, detailed surgical planning is necessary to avoid later unaesthetic results. Most of the studies in the literature concentrate on the ears’ anatomy during childhood and adolescence. Nearly no study evaluates the anatomy of ears of people aged 50 or older. It was our aim to measure and evaluate the ear’s anatomy in Caucasians between the ages of 21 and 65.

Methods

Three-dimensional scans of 240 volunteers were taken. The subjects were divided into groups of males and females and each of them into three groups by age (21–35, 36–50, 51–65). Landmarks were placed in these scans. Distances, relations and angles between them were recorded.

Results

The distance between the subaurale and superaurale significantly increases (p < 0.001) during the aging process in males and females. Also, the width of the ear, measured between the preaurale and postaurale, significantly increased (p = 0.007) with advancing age. When the length of the ear is divided into four parts by anatomical landmarks, it extended the most in the lower quadrant with increasing subject age.

Conclusion

The ear of Caucasians does not stop changing its shape during adulthood. Even after the body has stopped growing, the ear still does. With the measured values in this study, it should be possible for the surgeon to plan the operation in advance and achieve satisfactory aesthetic outcomes.

Level of Evidence V

This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oral, Maxillofacial and Facial Plastic Surgery, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany

    Ali Modabber, Helmut Galster, Florian Peters, Stephan Christian Möhlhenrich, Kristian Kniha, Frank Hölzle & Alireza Ghassemi

  2. Department of Orthopaedic Trauma, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Aachen, Germany

    Matthias Knobe

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  1. Ali Modabber
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  2. Helmut Galster
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  3. Florian Peters
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  4. Stephan Christian Möhlhenrich
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  5. Kristian Kniha
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  7. Frank Hölzle
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  8. Alireza Ghassemi
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Correspondence to Ali Modabber.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to disclose.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Modabber, A., Galster, H., Peters, F. et al. Three-Dimensional Analysis of the Ear Morphology. Aesth Plast Surg 42, 766–773 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00266-017-1027-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00266-017-1027-4

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