What is a congenital preauricular fistula? Congenital preauricular fistula is a common congenital anomaly that is inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion. Most patients with unilateral or bilateral fistulas share the same offspring. What are the symptoms of a congenital preauricular fistula? When squeezed, a little thin mucus or creamy sebum-like material may spill from the sinus opening, which is slightly odorous and locally itchy. If there is a secondary infection, local redness, pain and pus overflow can recur. In case of long-term infection, the skin near the fistula can become ulcerated and crusted, and the wound can remain unhealed for a long time or form several small pus-filled holes. If the fistula is very long and extends far, an abscess may develop away from the fistula if the infection is deep. Treatment of congenital preauricular fistulae 1. If there is no secondary infection, treatment is usually not necessary. 2. After infection, in addition to giving antibiotic treatment, if an abscess forms, it is necessary to perform an abscess incision and drainage. However, incision and drainage destroy the integrity of the fistula and can easily lead to recurrent infection. For fistulas with recurrent infections or skin ulcers caused by infections, surgical excision is recommended, provided that the acute inflammation is controlled first. If there is a local abscess, it should be incised and drained, and then operated after the inflammation is controlled. Generally, adults can be operated under local anesthesia, while children need general anesthesia because they cannot cooperate. If the skin is ulcerated, but the ulcerated area is not large, the fistula and the ulcerated skin can be removed together after the acute inflammation is controlled, and then the skin can be sutured to achieve a cure. The fistula can be cleaned locally with 70% alcohol wipe if there is secretion to prevent infection. During the infection period: apply antibiotic treatment and try to avoid spicy and stimulating foods and lamb, beef, chicken and seafood in the diet to prevent the inflammation from getting worse. Before surgery: try to control the inflammatory symptoms before surgery to avoid the spread of postoperative soft tissue inflammation due to unsatisfactory local infection control After surgery: pay attention to the protection of the wound after surgery, observe the wound healing, the presence of exudate, and change the dressing in a timely manner. If the wound does not heal despite adequate antibiotic treatment, the possibility of residual blind end should be considered, and the lesion and blind end remnants should be completely removed by surgery again.