Answer:
Aural atresia is an absent or incomplete external auditory canal. Concomitant temporal bone malformations such as abnormalities of the middle ear, ossicles, cochleo-vestibular labyrinth or facial nerve can be associated with aural atresia and lead to impaired development of audition. In Belluci’s series of 48 patients, surgical repair of atresia improved hearing to near-normal levels in 45 %. The surgical procedure included mastoidectomy, tympanoplasty, fenestration of the horizontal canal for stapes fixation. The best results were obtained with ossicular repositioning in the presence of a mobile stapes. Poor results were associated with inability to visualize the middle ear cleft, and mastoid cavity infection.
When should it be done? Infants with biaural atresia who are candidates for otologic surgery can undergo repair between 4-6 years.