Patient's question:
My daughter is ten years old. She has a congenital preauricular fistula. She was discovered to have it when she was six years old. Her ear was inflamed, and she told me that her ear was very painful. Besides the thick liquid flowing from her ear, I was afraid that my daughter would go deaf. How is a congenital preauricular fistula treated?Doctor's answer:
This condition is caused by a bacterial infection, congenital preauricular fistula, and is contagious. Treatment involves first completely eliminating the inflammation, ensuring the area is not red, painless, and swollen, before proceeding with surgery to remove the fistula, which will then be cured. This disease generally never interferes with hearing because it does not damage the eardrum, so hearing is not affected. However, you can choose to have surgery after the inflammation is resolved, or else the treatment may not be thorough and could lead to recurrent infections.