To the Editor.—Having read with interest the article by Schuller et al1 concerning the treatment of wrestler's auricular hematoma, we would like to briefly report our experience with this pathologic condition of the pinna.
Our series consisted mainly of alcoholics, alienated people living in hospice, or patients with an occasional auricular hematoma. Most of these patients are uncooperative and conventional pressure dressings applied over the auricle are usually impractical.
In our experience, auricular hematoma decompression by needle aspiration or by simple incision, with or without curettage, is frequently ineffective, resulting in hematomal reoccurrence.
Consequently, with increasing experience, we developed the following technique, which is now our therapy of choice for auricular hematoma drainage: (1) Anesthetize the skin overlying the hematoma, generally the lateral auricular surface. (2) Make a triangular incision, 1 × 1 × 0.5 cm, directly over the hematoma. Excise and discard the resulting cutaneoperichondrial triangle. (3)