For patients with congenital microtia , wearing a silicone prosthetic ear offers a major advantage: they can achieve a natural-looking ear without undergoing complex surgery. However, this solution also comes with several challenges: 👉 Aesthetic limitations – The prosthesis may not perfectly match the skin tone, and the implant base can sometimes be visible. While a skilled prosthetist can improve these issues, they are not always completely resolved. 👉 Social discomfort – In certain situations, patients need to remove their prosthetic ear, such as during sports, swimming, gym workouts, or other physical activities. This can cause embarrassment, self-consciousness, and social anxiety . 👉 Lack of naturalness and permanence – Even with modern techniques, a prosthetic ear cannot fully provide the sense of confidence and authenticity that comes with a surgically reconstructed ear made from the patient’s own tissue. Because of these reasons, many patients eventually seek ear reconstruction surgery for a more natural, stable, and lifelong solution. Today, thanks to advances in medical techniques, particularly the one-stage, single-incision endoscopic ear reconstruction performed by Associate Professor Nguyen Hong Ha , patients can achieve an ear that looks natural, symmetrical, and long-lasting—helping them regain confidence in daily life and social interactions. Please send us a message via our website or call our hotline at +84 974.700.600 to book an appointment.

For children born with Aural Atresia —a condition where the ear canal is absent or underdeveloped—hearing loss can make everyday listening a challenge. This is especially true in noisy environments such as classrooms, restaurants, playgrounds, and cars, where background noise makes it hard to identify where sounds are coming from. “Sound localization is essential for safety, communication, and learning,” explains ear specialists. “When one ear is affected, the brain struggles to pinpoint sound direction. Atresia repair can change that.” Atresia repair —also known as canalplasty or atresiaplasty —is a surgical procedure to create or open the ear canal, improving hearing and enabling the brain to localize sound. After surgery, many children find it easier to hear voices in groups, respond when called from a distance, and participate more fully in school and social activities. Some patients choose surgery after outer ear reconstruction, allowing them to wear in-the-ear (ITE) or behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids. Others may have a partially formed canal that simply needs opening to improve hearing. Who is a candidate? Not every child with Atresia can benefit from surgery. A CT scan is used to examine the middle and inner ear and is graded using the Jahrsdoerfer scale (0–10): Children must also have functional middle ear bones and an open oval window to transmit sound to the inner ear. If hearing loss is due to nerve problems (sensorineural loss), Atresia repair will not help, though other options such as cochlear implants may be explored. A decision with lifelong impact Early diagnosis and careful evaluation are key to determining whether a child is a good candidate for Atresia repair. When successful, the surgery not only restores hearing but also enhances communication skills, social confidence, and quality of life. For more information or to schedule a consultation, please drop us an email for further detailed information.

If your baby has Microtia, take care of it as with all other babies, but always watch to see if the baby can hear well because hearing loss often causes hearing reduction or hearing loss. Be like any parent always for their children in similar circumstances. Microtia is not “hopeless”, as it can be “repaired” by the time the child reaches 3 years of age. Drag Drag Children with unilateral hearing disabilities will have problems / difficulties identifying the direction of sound and have difficulty hearing conversations in noisy environments, but the need for hearing aid equipment remains controversial. If your child has Microtia and has binaural hearing loss, it is important to improve your child’s hearing ability with a bone conduction hearing aid machine like the BAHA. It should be fitted before 6 months of age. The sounds that babies hear during their first year of life are very important for language and speech development. Drag Drag When your child is over 3 years old, it is necessary to see an ear specialist to determine the cause of the hearing reduction. If the cause of the hearing reduction is due to the absence of the ear canal or the ear drum, the Medpor method of shaping the outer ear, creating the ear drum and the ear canal will significantly improve hearing for the child. Medpor method can be done for children over 3 years old.

By Ha H. Nguyen, Huyen T. T. Tran, and Hang T. T. Nguyen Department of Maxillofacial - Plastic - Aesthetic Surgery, Viet-Duc University Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam A Single Cut That Changes Lives In the evolving field of reconstructive surgery, cosmetic outcomes matter just as much as functional success—especially for procedures that impact visible areas like the ear. Traditional auricular reconstruction techniques, while effective, often leave behind long scars and areas of hair loss. But what if we told you there's now a minimally invasive alternative? Welcome to the era of single-incision, endoscopic-assisted temporoparietal fascia flap (TPFF) harvesting —a breakthrough that blends surgical precision with aesthetic sensibility. The Challenge of Auricular Reconstruction Auricular reconstruction for conditions like congenital microtia or trauma-related ear loss has long relied on two primary methods: autologous costal cartilage or porous polyethylene (PPE) frameworks. The cartilage option demands multiple stages and is delayed until children reach ages 8–12. PPE frameworks, introduced for younger children by Reinisch in the 1990s, allow earlier intervention but require meticulous soft tissue coverage to avoid complications like framework exposure. Enter the TPFF—an ideal thin and vascular flap used to cover the ear framework. Historically, harvesting this flap meant long, conspicuous scalp incisions that often led to scarring and alopecia. Not anymore. The Breakthrough Approach From 2018 to 2021, our team at Viet-Duc University Hospital treated 60 patients using a novel single-incision technique. We used an endoscope and a single discreet incision hidden along the hairline to harvest TPFFs—entirely avoiding scalp scars. Our key achievements: We successfully reconstructed ears in patients ranging from 3 to 50 years old, with many young children receiving life-changing surgery before even starting school. Why It Works Using a 30° endoscope, we navigated the complex anatomy of the scalp with precision. We carefully preserved vital arteries such as the superficial temporal artery and its branches , ensuring flap viability. In some cases, we even identified additional small arteries previously undetectable by Doppler or CT angiography. This method not only avoids unsightly scars but also reduces intraoperative blood loss, postoperative pain, and recovery time. Surgeons benefit from ergonomic ease and a magnified surgical field, and teaching this technique becomes easier via live video feed. Looking Ahead With this technique, we achieved both reconstructive goals and cosmetic excellence . And with 61 flaps—the largest series of its kind—we’re confident this approach can become the new gold standard for auricular reconstruction. Our heartfelt thanks go to Dr. John Reinisch and Dr. Ken Stewart, pioneers in microtia reconstruction, for their guidance and inspiration. For Patients and Parents If you're a parent of a child with microtia or someone dealing with an ear defect, know that solutions are becoming not just better—but also more beautiful.

There is no scientific answer to what causes Microtia. Currently, there is no sound scientific evidence that can say or show that Microtia is completely genetic. Although it appears to be more frequent in certain ethnic backgrounds, it also appears to be completely random in many others. There are many families who give birth to a child with Microtia when no one on either side of the family has ever had Microtia as far back as history can show. Microtia does not appear to be present in the bloodline for many families. One child may be born with Microtia where his/her twin sibling may not show any signs of having Microtia. There is no evidence proving that the use of fertility drugs can cause Microtia. There is also no proof that the mother has used some drug, medicine or by eating drinking something wrong during pregnancy period can cause Microtia. Some people infected with Agent Orange can give birth to children with various defects including handicapped ears. * Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyễn Hồng Hà is currently the Head of the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery at Viet Duc University Hospital. He is responsible for managing and overseeing all aesthetic surgical activities of the department. With over 20 years of experience in the field of plastic and aesthetic surgery, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hà has led and directly performed thousands of surgical procedures involving reconstruction, reattachment, and functional restoration, as well as aesthetic surgeries on various parts of the human body. These procedures range in scale and complexity and have been carried out across Vietnam, utilizing some of the most advanced techniques and technologies in the world. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hà currently serves as the Vice President of the Vietnam Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (VSAPS) and is a member of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS).

The most common complications associated with ear reconstructive surgery are: To understand why complications can occur it should be seen that ear reconstruction is a very complex process as shown below. According to the traditional method of using autologous rib cartilage, the surgical process consists of many stages. The first stage is to remove a few pieces of cartilage from the ribs on the chest, sculpture them to become the frame of the ear and then implant it under the scalp in site of the defective ear. Then, it takes many operations to lift the ear frame off the scalp, create the grooves behind the ears, cover the cartilage frame, skin graft on the scale and adjust other details of the ears. With many such operations, the risk of complications is possible. According to the Medpor method, using porous polyethylene ear frame with artificial synthetic tissue to shape ears, although the advantage is that it only undergoes one surgery but requires delicate dissecting techniques to remove the temporal flatform the layer under the scalp to cover the plastic frame and skin grafting should be taken from the patient own thigh or abdomen. Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Hong Ha, who has successfully performed many ear-defected or microtia reconstructions at the Vietnam-Germany Friendship Hospital, said: When performing difficult techniques, if the surgeon is not experienced, not only this will result in poorly reconstructive ears, which may also increase the risk of complications. * Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyễn Hồng Hà is currently the Head of the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery at Viet Duc University Hospital. He is responsible for managing and overseeing all aesthetic surgical activities of the department. With over 20 years of experience in the field of plastic and aesthetic surgery, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hà has led and directly performed thousands of surgical procedures involving reconstruction, reattachment, and functional restoration, as well as aesthetic surgeries on various parts of the human body. These procedures range in scale and complexity and have been carried out across Vietnam, utilizing some of the most advanced techniques and technologies in the world. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hà currently serves as the Vice President of the Vietnam Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (VSAPS) and is a member of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS).