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.