The authors of this article—which is of utmost relevance for general as well as specialist medical practice—rightly mention the indications of surgery and plastic surgery. However, since there are limitations to what plastic surgery can achieve, and since reconstruction after the total destruction or loss of one or both auricles, nose, and eye sockets is possible by means of prosthetic surgical treatment (1– 3), this approach should be borne in mind for initial treatment as well as for long term treatment. Plastic reconstruction of an auricle, for example, can be difficult if scars from the burn injury are present, as is the case for the burn injuries patients on the cover and Figure 4 of the publication. Only a bone-anchored prosthesis may spare the patient from developing severe psychological stress. An indication for epithetic treatment always exists where plastic-reconstructive measures are not promising or have not obtained a successful result, or where the optimal esthetic result is the prime consideration.
In patients with severe burns and hearing loss, available treatment options include tympanoplasty, a hearing aid or bone-anchored hearing aid, or a middle ear implant.
References
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