Table 3.

Long-term limitations of autologous auricular reconstruction

Long-term limitations		Reasons
Stiffness		1. Different biomechanical properties of fibrocartilage donor [23] 2. Heterotopic calcification [23, 65]
Extrusion		1. Skin flap necrosis [37] 2. Wire sutures to assemble cartilage framework [36, 37] 3. Wound infection or pressure dressings [28, 64]
Projection loss		1. Effacement of postauricular sulcus due to contraction of skin grafts [37, 67]
Distortion		1. Constriction of skin and soft tissue overlying the construct due to scarring or ischaemia [37] 2. Cartilage degradation and resorption leading to loss of definition [64, 66, 67]