injuries poisoning
External Ear Trauma
Subperichondrial hematoma (cauliflower ear)
The perichondrium supplies blood to the auricular cartilage. Blunt trauma to the pinna may cause a subperichondrial hematoma; the accumulation of large amounts of blood between the perichondrium and cartilage can interrupt the blood supply to the cartilage and render all or part of the pinna a shapeless, reddish purple mass. Avascular necrosis of the cartilage may follow. The resultant destruction causes the characteristic cauliflower ear of wrestlers and boxers. Step-by-Step Description of Procedure consists of promptly evacuating the clot through an incision and preventing reaccumulation of the hematoma with through-and-through ear sutures over dental gauze rolls, petroleum (plain or antimicrobial) gauze, or insertion of a Penrose drain plus the aforementioned pressure dressings. Because these injuries are prone to infection and abscess formation, an oral antibiotic effective against staphylococci (eg, Failure to drain a subperichondrial hematoma may lead to permanent external ear deformity. 