This is a spontaneous birth defect that occurs with a frequency of one in every 5,000–7,000 births in the general population. Males and right ears are affected more often. Bilateral microtia occurs 1 in every 20,000 births. The majority of cases are sporadic; less than 15% of individuals with microtia have a family history of ear abnormalities.

No, there is nothing you did wrong and no way that you could have prevented this. It is a spontaneous birth defect.

Research has found no defined genetic pattern. The chance of parents having more than one child born with this deformity is highly improbable.

Dr. Thomas Romo, III, is known worldwide for his innovative  treatment for children born with microtia. After having performed the currently standard treatment—surgical removal of a large piece of rib cartilage—for ten years, Dr. Romo invented a far less painful procedure. This technique is a two-stage process with a drastically quicker recovery. The first stage involves minimally invasive surgery and one overnight hospital stay. After surgery the child will wear a Romo-Guard™ for 4–6 weeks while the skin graft heals. After approximately 3 months, the child is ready for the second stage which is ambulatory—your child can go home on the same day.

A third step is available for hearing restoration which requires a separate operation. Dr. Romo can reconstruct the child’s ear canal and middle ear which allows your child to hear.

• Parents can choose to do nothing. Microtia is not life-threatening.
• The current worldwide standard treatment—the child’s chest is cut open and a piece of rib cartilage the size of an ear is removed. That piece is then carved into the shape of an ear and attached to the child’s head. This method requires up to half a dozen operations. This is an extremely painful process and your child will be traumatized. This approach requires approximately 5–6 days per treatment and as many overnight stays in the hospital. There are risks involved and many of Dr. Romo’s referred patients are children who’ve undergone a rib cartilage surgery that failed.
• Attach a prosthesis—an artifical ear attached with screws to the child’s head, or a magnetic mechanism. Issues to consider: during normal physical activity the magnetically attached prosthetic can easily fall off causing the child excrutiating social embarrassment; on the flip side, a prosthetic cannot be fastened too tightly because it must be removed at night and during showers. Over time, and with the repetitive action of touching the artifical ear in order to attach and remove, causes discoloration which means that the prosthetic will need to be replaced every two years. The cost of the prosthetic is prohibitive: $3,500–5,000 per ear.