Accepted treatment for chondrodermatitis nodularis chronica helicis is either destruction or excision.1 Recurrences are common after such treatment, and the cosmetic results are not always satisfactory. The following report is submitted because the results of the treatment used have been superior to those of any other method of treatment I have tried.
In October, 1950, a 65-year-old white woman with a painful nodule of the right ear was seen. The nodule had been cauterized and desiccated elsewhere on numerous occasions. Since the patient stated that she was sensitive to local anesthetics and since the lesion was inflamed, I prescribed bacitracin ointment for local application rather than attempting to destroy or excise the lesion at that time. One week later the pain had largely disappeared. Subsequently, all pain subsided, and the lesion decreased in size. Since then, eight additional patients have been treated with bacitracin ointment. Of these, seven have