The Microtia Clinic

About the Microtia Clinic

The Microtia Clinic at Children’s Hospital Colorado accepts children from birth to 21 years of age. We also welcome new patients regardless of where they received prior care. We are the only clinic in Colorado dedicated to caring for children and adolescents with microtia and related conditions, such as ear canal atresia. We provide patients and their families with high-quality care for microtia as well as answer any questions they have about appearance, hearing loss, treatments and everyday life.

Compassionate care for the entire family

At Children’s Colorado, we design our care for microtia around the entire family, because we know that differences in appearance and hearing loss can affect more than just the patient. Our team talks through family concerns as well as your child’s concerns. We also help connect families and patients with each other so they can talk about shared experiences.

What to expect during your visit to the Microtia Clinic

At the clinic, families discuss their child’s health needs and wishes with a team of microtia specialists. This can include anything from ways to help your child manage hearing loss to how to approach ear reconstruction surgery. We offer many different treatment options and a unique plan for each child. Appointments usually last 2 to 3 hours.

After meeting with our specialists, patients and families have the opportunity to meet and talk with each other. Treating the whole child means providing opportunities for children to relate and share their experiences in a safe environment. Talking about what it’s like growing up with microtia or atresia or just discussing everyday life with kids like them helps children develop relationships, expand social skills and build confidence.

Families are welcome to come to the Clinic as often as they like, but we do encourage families to come at least once a year to learn about new research and advances in treatment. We’ve also found that regular visits support children with microtia as they grow up and start to make their own choices about their ears and hearing.

Our Microtia Clinic specialists

Our team is made up of many different experts, all who address a specific aspect of microtia care. The team includes:

• Board-certified pediatric ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctors and surgeons
• Audiologists (hearing specialists) trained to work with children and adolescents
• Anaplastologist (ear prosthesis specialist)
• Family consultant who specialized in microtia and ear canal atresia
• Developmental psychologists dedicated to children who are deaf or hard of hearing
• Nurse who specializes in microtia and a clinical nurse coordinator
• Speech language pathologist trained to work with children with hearing loss
• Additional resources as needed, including parent guides and a social worker, who specialize in hearing loss

Why choose the Microtia Clinic at Children’s Colorado?

As an internationally recognized clinic, we are leading the way in microtia treatment. Our experience drives our exceptional care, and having a large team means we can treat every aspect of the condition, both physical and mental. Our research shows that children seen in our Microtia Multidisciplinary Clinic have better outcomes than those who do not participate in the clinic. We also provide care into adulthood, which means that children with microtia can build a relationship with their care team and gain the trust necessary for the best treatment.

Specialized treatment and early intervention improves outcomes

Experts in the Microtia Clinic can see children with microtia and atresia when they are infants, or as early as possible. But no matter where your child is in their medical journey, seeing a specialized team like our always helps with things such as:

• Providing families with counseling
• Enabling patients to make their own choices about their ear(s)
• Introducing families to other children and adults with microtia or atresia
• Educating families with current and accurate information
• Helping parents form a plan to manage their child’s hearing 
• Connecting patients with other services, as needed

Pediatric trained experts in a kid-friendly environment

Since 2010, the microtia team has seen more than 600 patients. Our team is specially trained to care for children and adolescents. No matter if you child is entering our program early, or you are entering our program as a young adult, we provide compassionate care in a friendly environment.

Multiple treatment options to support personal choices

Our team understands that each child is unique, which is why we offer different rehabilitative and treatment options for microtia to meet individual needs and personal choices.

Treatment options for appearance

Treatment can address both ear function and appearance. Some options to address appearance include:

• Leaving the ear natural, or as-is
• Completing a multistage reconstructive rib graft surgery 
• Creating a custom-made ear prosthesis

Hearing-treatment options also include hearing aids, the newest implanted hearing devices and assistive technologies that can be used with all three appearance treatment options.

Ear reconstruction surgery for Microtia

Contributing research to improve treatment

Our team presents and participates in numerous clinical trials focused on children with microtia, atresia and hearing loss. We have had more than a dozen local, national and international presentations highlighting our work. We are currently a lead site for a clinical trial of an implanted hearing device for children with conductive hearing loss. We are also conducting innovative research on the genetics of microtia and atresia and on brain development for children with conductive hearing loss.