Pseudocyst of the auricle.

OBJECTIVE: To study the epidemiological profile of patients with pseudocyst of the auricle and to review the effectiveness of surgical excision of the anterior cartilage with compression buttoning in this condition.

STUDY DESIGN: Medical records of patients with pseudocyst of the auricle treated in the Department of Otolaryngology of the Singapore General Hospital were reviewed retrospectively during the period from March 1, 2000, to November 30, 2001.

METHODS: A retrospective descriptive analysis of the epidemiological profile of patients with pseudocyst of the auricle was done. Surgical excision with compression buttoning was evaluated as the definitive treatment in this condition.

RESULTS: Eighty-seven percent of our patients were male and the mean age was 38.9 years old. There was no racial predisposition. All 9 patients who had simple aspiration of the cyst had prompt re-accumulation of the pseudocyst. None of the patients had recurrence following excision and compression buttoning of the pseudocyst. The complication rate in our study was 2.4%. Only one patient developed initial perichondritis with a resultant cauliflower deformity following surgical excision.

CONCLUSION: Pseudocyst of the auricle typically presents as a painless unilateral swelling of the auricle in young adult males. Treatment options are varied. Excision of the anterior cartilage with compression buttoning yielded excellent results with no recurrence.