Safety and Efficacy of Connecting the Residual Ear to the Cartilage Scaffold in First- vs. Second-Stage Surgery
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Two-stage connection, One-stage connection.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Microtia, Outcome Assessment, RCT, Surgery Related Complications Rate. Basic parameters: 6 years — 30 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- China
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
Unsure about the terms? Read our patient guide →
Official title
Safety and Efficacy of Connecting the Residual Ear to the Cartilage Scaffold in First- vs. Second-Stage Surgery : a Protocl of a Randomized Controlled Trial in Non-expanded Auricular Reconstruction for Concha-type Microtia
Overview
Eligible patients will be admitted from the outpatient clinic to complete the relevant examinations after admission（Preoperative routine examination and chest CT）. The baseline parameters will be registered when admitted to hospital, including case number, diagnosis, sex, age, height, weight, and underlying medical conditions. Patients have at least 12 hours to consider participation in the study and will be given the opportunity to ask questions about the study. Written informed consent will be obtained by the surgical resident or the surgeon after admission to the hospital. Randomization will be done by relevant member . After inclusion, patients will be allocated to one of the two study groups (First-stage Connection or Second-stage Connection) using an online randomization program. The perioperative care will be the same for all included patients.Surgery will be performed by experienced surgeons, with non-expanded ear reconstruction using autologous rib cartilage. The surgery normally comprises two stages. After each surgery, details and duration of the surgery will be documented. For each stage of surgery, patients are scheduled for visits about 3-6 months. In addition, after the total surgery, patients are to fill out 'Glasgow Benefit Inventory' and 'Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale'.
Interventions
- Procedure Two-stage connection
Two-stage connection refers to a procedure that connecting and incorporating the cartilage framework with the residual ear during the second stage surgery of ear reconstruction. An intact cartilage framework is embedded in skin pocket in the first stage, hence, in the second stage of surgery, parts of the cartilage framework that has already survived will be shaved off to ensure the firm combination between the residual era cartilage and grafted costal cartilage. - Procedure One-stage connection
One-stage connection refers to a procedure that connecting and incorporating the cartilage framework with the residual ear in the first stage surgery of ear reconstruction. In one-stage surgery, the cartilage framework is connected with the residual ear (non-deformed, unexcluded part) to form a smooth and complete ear subunit structure. In this way, it is necessary to trim the excess postauricular skin, which may pose a greater risk of blood supply. After the first stage of surgery, the overall
Primary outcome measures
- Grade-A healing [Time frame: For each stage of surgery, patients are scheduled for visits about 3-6 months.]
Secondary outcome measures (3)
- complication rates [Time frame: For each stage of surgery, patients are scheduled for visits about 3-6 months.]
- Scar score [Time frame: 3-6 months after the total ear reconstruction surgery]
- Patients' satisfaction score [Time frame: 3-6 months after the total ear reconstruction surgery]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
All consecutive patients between 6 and 30 years with a congenital concha-microtia8, admitted to our hospital are potentially eligible, and enrollment in the study will be based on the following criteria.
- Patients were fully informed about the purpose, modalities and risks associated with this study, signed an informed consent form and were willing to be followed up.
- Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) scan shows he or she has 3.Patients can tolerate general anesthesia without severe chronic organic or mental illness.
Exclusion criteria
- Patients combined with other ear diseases such as ear fistula, titis media, etc.
- Patients receive other unrelated ear surgeries during the study
- Skin in the surgical area with infection, ulceration, and scarring.
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: No
Study design
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Model
- Parallel assignment
- Masking
- Open label
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
Study locations
China · 1 center
- Sichuan provincial people's hospital — Chengdu
Publications
- Zhang X, Chen Z, Chen M, Wang Y, Du L, Cai Z, Jiang Z. Safety and efficacy of connecting the residual ear to the cartilage scaffold in the first-stage versus second-stage surgery: a protocol of a randomised controlled trial in non-expanded auricular reconstruction for concha-type microtia. BMJ Open. 2026 Feb 4;16(2):e104106. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2025-104106. PMID 41638738
Identifiers
NCT: NCT06763991 · 2025-256-1