It is customary to put on a head bandage after pinnaplasty and the general consensus is that it should remain on for about a week to prevent haematoma and splint the reshaped pinna in place. In this review article, the authors identified 34 papers of which seven met their inclusion criteria. Only one was a randomised controlled trial (RCT), one ‘quasi’ RCT, three case series and one review article. In the RCT comprising 78 children, there was no statistically significant difference in the complication rates between children having the bandage for just 24 hours compared to those having it for a week. In the quasi RCT study, the complication rate was ten percent more in the non-bandaged group. The general observation from other studies was that putting a bandage on does not reduce complications. The authors note that discomfort, pain and need to replace the bandage within a week has not been considered as a complication. It would appear that it is not necessary to bandage after pinnaplasty for more than 24 hours considering prolonged bandaging can produce serious complications such as cartilage necrosis and pressure sores.
For how long is post-pinnaplasty head bandage really necessary?
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