Pre-auricular Pit
A pre-auricular pit is a congenital defect where a child is born with an extraneous sinus tract under the skin with a small opening in front of the ear, most often above the ear canal.
Understanding Preauricular Sinus: Occurrence, Risks, and Associated Syndromes
This opening occurs due to a failure of the outside part of the ear to fuse completely during prenatal development, presenting in less than 1% of the population.
Often, the condition poses no danger and is only noticeable by the small hole present above, or more rarely, below the ear canal. However, a cyst or recurrent infection may develop in the tract, which may be cause for removal of the tract completely.
The small openings are also associated with Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, characterized by abdominal abnormalities and kidney and liver cancer. The pits can also be a symptom of branchio-oto-renal syndrome if combined with hearing loss and kidney abnormalities.
Preauricular Pit Excision
In this procedure, incisions are made around the opening of the preauricular tract. A probe is inserted into the opening to determine the length of the sinus. The whole tract and some surrounding cartilage are excised to prevent recurrence of any cyst or infection. This procedure poses some risk of facial paralysis due to the proximity of the facial nerve to the preauricular tract.
