What Causes Baby to Be Born Without an Ear
Microtia
Microtia is a deformity of the outer ear that ranges from minor structural problems to in that location being no external ear at all. The status usually develops in early pregnancy.
Overview
What is microtia?
Microtia is a deformity of the outer ear. This deformity can range from mild structural problems to a completely missing external ear. When accompanied past a missing ear canal it besides tin crusade hearing problems and difficulty telling which management a sound comes from.
Microtia ordinarily affects one ear simply tin occur in both ears. Information technology usually develops during the kickoff trimester of pregnancy.
How common is microtia?
Doctors diagnose microtia in roughly i to five out of 10,000 births. The condition occurs more ofttimes in boys than girls. It affects the right ear more often than the left.
What are the gamble factors for microtia?
Babies at a higher take chances for microtia include those whose mothers:
- Are over historic period 35
- Become acutely sick during pregnancy
- Do non get enough carbohydrates or folic acrid during pregnancy
- Have diabetes
- Take given birth to a child with the status
- Used certain medications including isotretinoin (Accutane®) while significant
Symptoms and Causes
What causes microtia?
Doctors do not know what causes near cases of microtia. It usually develops during the first trimester of pregnancy.
In some cases, microtia is a characteristic of a larger syndrome such as craniofacial microsomia (a status that affects the development of the face before birth). Some cases of microtia are genetic (passed down among family unit members).
What are the symptoms of microtia?
The symptoms of microtia include:
- Abnormally formed outer ear
- Missing outer ear (anotia)
- Smaller than normal ear size
Diagnosis and Tests
How is microtia diagnosed?
A doctor usually diagnoses microtia at birth. The deformity is visible when the infant is born. Sometimes a doctor uses an imaging exam called a CT browse to become a detailed picture of the babe'southward ear. This test helps the doc look for abnormalities of the ear bones of the middle ear.
There are several classification systems. The severity of the deformity determines the blazon and can be classified as:
- Blazon i: External ear is smaller than average but all parts are nowadays with minor deformities
- Type 2: Outer ear is partially formed and minor
- Blazon three: Some auricular structures but no recognized ear parts
- Type 4: Anotia (complete absence of external ear)
Management and Treatment
How is microtia managed or treated?
The external advent of microtia does non e'er require treatment, but any hearing loss should be addressed. It is very important to obtain hearing evaluation early on and maintain close hearing follow-up through early on childhood.
If patients and families choose to address the microtia there are several options. 1 is by using a prosthesis (made of a silicone material). These can await very natural and may attach with adhesive or magnets. However, they require maintenance over time and may not be the best choice for some children.
Other options included surgery to reconstruct the afflicted ear. Reconstructive surgery tin begin between ages 6-ix depending on techniques used, and there tin exist ii to four stages involved in this reconstruction. During this process, doctors create a new ear from cartilage collected from the rib or from constructed (human-made) materials.
What complications are associated with microtia?
Hearing loss is the most common complication associated with microtia. Some people with microtia experience embarrassed or have self-esteem issues caused past the ear's appearance.
Prevention
Tin microtia be prevented?
Steps women can take to reduce their risk of having a baby with microtia include:
- Fugitive certain medications during pregnancy
- Getting proper nutrition during pregnancy
Outlook / Prognosis
What is the prognosis (outlook) for people with microtia?
Many children with microtia take otherwise normal development and atomic number 82 active and healthy lives. Hearing can be improved or restored in well-nigh patients with microtia.
Living With
When should I call the physician?
Women who are pregnant or want to become pregnant should talk with their doctor about how to increment their chances of having a healthy baby. A woman who had 1 baby with microtia has a small-scale risk of having another kid with the status.
What questions should I inquire my child's doctor?
If your child has microtia, you may want to inquire your doctor:
- How severe is the deformity?
- What signs of complications should I wait out for?
- What is the best treatment for my child?
- Who should I come across to ensure my child'southward hearing is optimized?
When can my kid become back to regular activities?
The time around surgery is the only time when a child living with microtia might accept restrictions on their activities.
Recovery after treatment for microtia depends on the treatment involved. Your doctor will tell you when it is condom for your child to resume normal activities.
What Causes Baby to Be Born Without an Ear
Source: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21063-microtia