Public perception of helical rim deformities and their correction with ear molding.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Among congenital ear deformities, helical rim deformities are most common. Non-surgical ear molding has emerged as an effective option to treat helical rim deformities and could reduce the need for surgery later in a child's life. Despite this, there has never been a study examining how the general public rates corrections after ear molding. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was conducted of all consecutive patients with helical rim deformities treated with InfantEar TM Molding System. Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) was used to survey blinded respondents using photographs of patients' ears to determine the degree of normalcy on a scale of 1 (not normal) to 10 (completely normal) before and after molding. Ratings of ears were compared using a paired t test and percent improvement from baseline. RESULTS: A total of 59 ears met criteria for evaluation by 497 MTurk respondents. Average age of patients at the time of treatment was 34.2 ± 16.8 days and mean therapy duration was 31.3 ± 13.1 days. A paired t test analysis found that MTurk respondents identified significant improvement in 91.5% of ears (n = 54) (P < 0.05). The percent improvement in observed helical rim change was on average 82.7 ± 61.1%. CONCLUSION: Ear molding is an effective and safe way to address helical rim deformities early in the neonatal period. The general public is able to recognize ears with rim deformities as abnormal, and appreciate the difference in architecture after molding. Crowdsourcing technology offers an opportunity to measure laypeople's perceptions regarding outcomes after ear molding.
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A previous study by our group found that laypersons perceived significant improvement in 91.5% of 59 isolated helical rim deformities treated with InfantEar immediately after treatment.
“A previous study by our group assessed layperson perceptions of 59 isolated helical rim deformities treated with InfantEar and found that respondents perceived significant improvement in 91.5% of ears immediately after treatment.19”
From Long-term Outcomes of Infant Ear Molding: A 10-year Single-Surgeon Experience (2025) · cites this paper as [19]
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- Authors
- Patel, V., Mazzaferro, D. M., Swanson, J. W., Taylor, J. A., & Bartlett, S. P.
- Affiliations
- Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (US)
- Corresponding author
- Bartlett, Scott P.
- Venue
- Journal of Craniofacial Surgery
- Published
- 2020-05
- Volume
- 31
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 741-745
- ISSN
- 1049-2275 (ISSN-L)
- 1536-3732
- OpenAlex
- W3012174640
- Cited by
- 17
- References
- 44
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2
- FWCI
- 2.98
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Craniofacial Surgery (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Reconstructive Facial Surgery Techniques
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Genetics › Congenital Ear and Nasal Anomalies
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Craniofacial Disorders and Treatments
- Keywords
- congenital ear deformity, public perception, crowdsourcing
- MeSH terms
- Duration of Therapy, Ear, External, Female, Humans, Male, Surveys and Questionnaires, Retrospective Studies
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