The next time you put on a pair of sunglasses, slip on coverings to protect your hearing, or just comb your hair, acknowledge the importance of your ears in everyday life.
For the thousands of people born with microtia, a congenital condition that affects external ear structure, these typical daily tasks are difficult if not impossible. Microtia鈥檚 effects can range from minor misshapenness of the external ear to virtually no external structure at all, with the most common presentation being called 鈥減eanut ear.鈥� The more severe cases of microtia can also affect the patient鈥檚 hearing.
Julia Toman, MD, assistant professor and director of the Division of Facial Plastics and Reconstructive Surgery at USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, is using surgery to help these patients achieve a more typical ear appearance. Dr. Toman will use either the patient鈥檚 own rib cartilage or prefabricated polyethylene structures to rebuild the ear shape and implant it under the patient鈥檚 scalp. The polyethylene structure option generally requires only a single surgery.
"This is life-changing for the patients who have this surgery," Dr. Toman said. "You can't wear glasses very well if you don't have an ear, and a lot of our protective devices for various occupations require that you have an ear to hook it on."
Given that microtia is present at birth, Toman says proper treatment should be offered to affected patients during childhood, but that some health care providers may not know options like surgery are available. She is raising awareness of her capabilities among physicians and views her role as supporting and partnering with communities to address these complex health issues.