To the Editor.—This letter is written in reference to the interesting article, "A Technique to Treat Wrestlers' Hematoma..." by David Schuller et al.1 When I first went into practice, I was shown a technique for treating auricular hematomas. I have used this method for the past 25 years. On two occasions, aspiration was required a second time, and in only one instance was a third aspiration necessary.
In this technique, a large-bore needle (18-gauge) is used to aspirate and evacuate the hematoma after infiltration of the overlying skin with lidocaine (Xylocaine) 1% with epinephrine 1:100 000. The authors state that the major problem appears to be related to the pressure dressing. The only dressing used is fine mesh (cut from a 5×5 cm [2×2 in] gauze pad) coated liberally with collodion and placed over the hematoma site. Several layers are used. No other dressing has been found necessary.