Incomplete excision of the infected congenital auricular fistula is often accompanied by formation of a draining sinus and by formation of the bizzare scars. Branching of the fistula often makes total excision difficult.
There are several cases who were treated with a careless incision and draining of the infected fistula by general physicians or pediatricians and sometimes even by otolaryngologists.
The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the following: 1. conservative management of the infected fistula could be done by an irrigation in the fistula sinus with saline solution and diluted antibiotics solution. 2. repeated injection of dyes such as methylene blue, indigo carmine into the tract prior to surgery may be helpful in defining its extent. 3. complete excision of the stained fistula was done meticulously under surgical microscope.
The cases with infected auricular fistula with draining sinus after the first incision and drainage were reported, and a literature review was made with a brief comment on its conservative and surgical managements.
