Ear molding with EarBuddies® in infants with congenital ear deformities: effectiveness and outcome-affecting factors.

INTRODUCTION: Congenital ear deformities affect psychosocial development, making otoplasty the most common aesthetic intervention in children. Ear molding offers a non-surgical alternative, though its effectiveness for different deformities remains unclear. This study analyzed short- and long-term outcomes and aims to identify outcome-affecting factors. METHODS: In this retrospective study, 104 infants (169 ears) who were treated with molding technique with EarBuddies® were included between 2019 and 2024. Outcomes were assessed by professional evaluation of pre- and post-treatment photographs, parental satisfaction at short term (directly after treatment) and long term (>6 months - 5 years), and EAR-Q scores. Multiple possible outcome-affecting factors were analyzed, including age at treatment initiation and breastfeeding. RESULTS: Parental satisfaction was high both at short term (73%) and long term (72%). At follow-up the overall EAR-Q score was 75 (SD 24). Outcomes were comparable for infants with a treatment initiation age of 0-12 weeks. Stahl ears and helical rim deformities showed the most favorable results, in contrast to cup ears and lobulus protrusion. Prominent ears show a significant decrease on the long term (p = 0.013), suggesting relapse. Mild, self-limiting complications occurred in 45% of the infants, sigificantly affecting short-term satisfaction negatively, but unaffecting long-term satisfaction. Breastfeeding and other treatment- or patient-related factors showed no significant impact on results. CONCLUSION: This large cohort showed that treatment with EarBuddies® is an effective non-surgical option for congenital ear deformities even after six weeks, resulting in high parental satisfaction at short and at long term, especially for the Stahl ears and the helical rim deformities.