Placement of Biodesign® surgical matrix during Pinnaplasty to prevent suture extrusion; A retrospective observational study.

Prominent ears affect 5% of the population(1). For those who wish to undergo corrective surgery, pinnaplasty reduces pinna prominence. This has proven improvement on quality of life (QOL) for patients. Pinnaplasty carries risk, which may lead to delay in this improvement of QOL, if for example a complication leads to infection, or require surgical revision The use of Mustardé sutures for pinnaplasties, first described in 1963 is a well established surgical approach to treat protruding ears. This approach has good outcomes, however can lead to suture-extrusion. Here we explore the use of Biodesign surgical mesh to cover the Mustardé sutures to prevent suture extrusion, and reduce the likelihood of the need for revision surgery.