Young kid came to us with painful right ear for 2 days.
On examination, a small pit/opening was noted over the preauricular region(as shown by red arrow), and tender swelling over the surrounding pit region(as shown by orange arrow).
The child has mild fever with temperature of 37.6C.
She was prescribed oral antibiotics and the child’s condition resolved upon completion of the antibiotic.
This condition, preauricular sinus(an opening, or sometimes referred as ear pit) is a congenital anomaly. In most instances, it does not cause any issue, unless when infection sets in. Common symptoms include fever, pain, swelling and in severe cases, abscess formation.
With repeated infection of the preauricular sinus, surgical removal is highly recommended to avoid future complications, such as recurrent infections, abscess, scarring etc.