Reconstruction: Microtia (ear birth defect, congenital malformation of the ear) - This patient has a normal right ear but was born with no left ear. He has no ear canal but actually still has a hearing mechanism buried in his head. To fix it we need 5-6 operations. The right age is when the child is old enough to know his ear is different and yet young enough that psychological trauma from peers has not injured his or her self esteem.

The ear begins with a rib graft carved to the shape of an ear buried in the skin on the side of the head. The new pocket for the ear is created by removing the remnant of cartillage. The "peanut" of soft tissue that remains is then transferred in a second stage to make an ear lobe.

The third stage is elevation of the ear using a skin graft. This allows them to wear glasses if needed.

While the ear is never an exact duplicate of the other ear it is the correct size and place to draw less attention.