An accessory auricle is a congenital anomaly typically seen as a skin coloured nodule, most frequently just to the front of the ear.
Signs and symptoms
Well-developed accessory auricle on the side of the neck
The general presentation is of a skin-covered nodule, papule, or nodule of the skin surface, usually immediately anterior to the auricle. However, it may be anywhere within the periauricular tissues. Bilateral presentation can be seen.
Genetics
A study of a family with 11 affected showed the accessory auricle were inherited in an autosomaldominant manner.
Diagnosis
An intermediate power of a microscopic view of an accessory auricle.
The lesions presents as a nodule or papule, either sessile or pedunculated. They may be soft or have a cartilaginous structure. By histologic examination, it is a recapitulation of normal external auricle. There will be skin, cartilaginous structures, and cartilage (although the last is not seen in all variants of this disorder). Some investigators believe that the tragus is the only hillock which is derived from the first branchial arch. This is clearly suggestive that true cases of accessory auricle represent a true duplication of the hillocks that were part of the second branchial arch. The second ear appears as a mirror image folded forward and lying on the posterior cheek.[citation needed]
Simple surgical excision is curative. The recommended treatment is that the skin is peeled off the extra-auricular tissue and protruding cartilage remnants are trimmed. Normal appearance is achieved in majority of cases. The reconstruction successful in true cases of accessory auricle, as it also is in individuals with auricular appendages.
Epidemiology
These lesions usually present in newborns, although they may not come to clinical attention until adulthood (for cosmetic reasons). There is no gender predilection. They are present in approximately 3–6 per 1000 live births.
1234Cardesa, Antonio (2016). "8. Ear and temporal bone". In Franchi, Alessandro; Slootweg, Pieter J.; Gale, Nina; Ann, Sandison (eds.). Pathology of the Head and Neck. Springer. p.397. ISBN978-3-662-49670-1.