선천성 전이개 누공에서 임상양상과 치료결과

Background and Objectives: The preauricular fistula is the most common congenital anomaly of the ear. Usually it is in an asymptomatic state, but in case of recurrent infection, it must be treated with surgery. The aim of this study was to assess clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of fistulectomy in the congenital preauricular fistula. Materials and Methods: This study was a retrospective analysis 110 patients (133 ears) of the congenital preauricular fistula who underwent a fistulectomy from January 1995 to July 2004. All the fistulectomy was performed with the same technique which involved an elliptical skin incision around the fistula opening and dissection of the fistula tract using a probe with methylene blue staining after identification of the temporalis fascia. Results: The fistulas were mainly located on the unilateral side of the ear (79 patients, 71.8%). Mostly the opening of the fistula was located on anterior portion at the crus of the helix (120 ears, 90.2%). In bacterial culture and antibiotics sensitivity test of the 23 ears, the most common colonizing species was Staphylococcus epidermidis (9 ears, 39.1%) and methicillin resistant bacteria were 9 ears (39.1%). The majority of length of fistula tract of the 123 ears was 16—20 mm (41 ears, 33.3%). The postoperative recurrence rate was 4.5% (6 ears). Conclusion: The current study indicates that an adequate use of preoperative antibiotics according the result of bacterial culture and antibiotic sensitivity test, and a thorough identification of the fistula tract may be an effective method in the fistulectomy for lowering of the recurrence rate. (J Clinical Otolaryngol 2008;19:46–50)