Medpor vs Rib Cartilage for Ear Reconstruction - Tahiri Plastic Surgery in Beverly Hills

Question:
Why should I choose Medpor ear reconstruction instead of a rib cartilage ear reconstruction?
Transcript:
“The next question is from Ohelia, from Lille in France.”
“Why should I choose for my child Medpor ear reconstruction instead of a rib cartilage ear reconstruction?”
“That is a very commonly asked question, and also it’s a very heavy question. This is probably the most commonly asked question I get from parents that come and visit us for treatment of Microtia.”
“The traditional method for ear reconstruction all over the world is rib cartilage. And this was popularized by Tanzer in the seventies. And it remains the most commonly performed procedure for ear reconstructions.”
“There were multiple refinements of the rib cartilage reconstruction over the years, and now the gold standard is to wait until ten years of age, and get the rib cartilage reconstruction via multiple stages.”
“I personally performed rib cartilage reconstruction, and then I switched to the Medpor ear reconstruction. The reason why, is I have noticed from my previous mentors, and other surgeons is that rib cartilage reconstructions look good initially, but then over time, I feel that they lose definition, they lose projection."
“And then over time, it doesn’t look like an ear anymore. So ultimately the kid waits until ten years of age to get an ear reconstruction, he gets rib harvested multiple stages, multiple stays in the hospital, and at the end it could be a disappointing result.”
“So, after performing rib reconstruction early in my practice, I ask myself the question: would I do this for my own kid? And the answer is no. I would not have my own kid go through those multiple stages, to get an ear with rib cartilage.”
“The advantages of using the Medpor ear reconstruction are multiple. The first one is, the ear reaches maturity at around three and a half years of age, it reaches approximately 85% of its size.”
“So you can perform a Medpor ear reconstruction as early as three and a half, you’re gonna make it slightly larger than the other ear, to compensate for the future growth. But, then kids can have through one single outpatient, a new ear before they start school at around five years of age.”
“It’s an outpatient procedure. We don’t have to harvest ribs, so it is not associated with discomfort, there is minimal pain and then the kids can normally go to school and not be bullied. I think for me the most important part is the end result, the long-term result. And the result we get with the Medpor ear reconstruction are incredible.”
“Over time, it keeps looking better and better. And rib cartilage reconstruction do not match the quality of the Medpor ear reconstruction. So for reasons of cosmetics, patient discomfort, outpatient procedures, low morbidity, all of those reasons pushed me to a Medpor ear reconstruction.”
“Again, I treat patients like my own kids, and let’s ask myself would I do this for my own kid. And I would not perform a rib cartilage on my own kid. However, I would perform a Medpor ear reconstruction, for the reasons that we talked about earlier.”
Learn more about ear reconstruction here:
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Dr. Youssef Tahiri | 250 N Robertson Blvd Ste 506 | Beverly Hills, California 90211 | [phone]

[@djamburere]

Thank you so much!