Reconstruction of the external auditory canal: The tragal flap revisited and review of contemporary reconstructive techniques

Background: Primary malignancies arising in the external auditory canal (EAC) are rare and usually are treated surgically. We review techniques to reconstruct the EAC following ablative surgery, and introduce a rarely utilized tragal skin flap which has particular advantages for reconstruction of limited anterior EAC defects. Methods: The terms “tragal flap”, “external auditory canal”, “preauricular tragal flap”, “reconstructive techniques” were searched on PubMed and Google Scholar. Results: Our review identified one description of a tragal flap to reconstruct the EAC following resection of a malignancy. We add an additional case of a preauricular tragal flap to reconstruct the anterior EAC following resection of a recurrent basal cell carcinoma located in the EAC that led to a circumferential defect. Conclusion: There are several surgical techniques that can be utilized to reconstruct the EAC. We describe a novel tragal flap used to reconstruct the anterior EAC following resection of a recurrent tumor.