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All babies have this, but most people close up when they are born but unfortunately some not. They still have them even when you’ve grown up. Some only have one pit, some have on both ears.

Preauricular Pit or Preauricular Tag is a small skin tag or pit in front of the outside part of the ear. Skin tags and pits just in front of the opening of the outside (external) ear are commonly seen in newborn infants.

Preauricular pits are (arguably) one of the milder anomalies that may result from imperfect external ear development. A minor anomaly of no great consequence in itself. More common in blacks than whites and in females than males. Can recur in families. The presence of 2 or more minor anomalies in a child increases the probability that the child has a major malformation.

The pits can become infected. When infected, this hole discharges a small amount of fluid, which has an unpleasant smell. The smell comes from a bacterial infection somewhere within the area behind the hole.

An infected pit usually presents as a soft or hard swelling at the helical root. Press on the swollen area, and a drop of pus will emerge from the pit. This can be treated with antibiotics, of course, but if the pit keeps getting infected, you would probably want to have it surgically removed. This can be done under local anesthesia. An ear, nose and throat surgeon (ENT) would be the best choice for this procedure, since we all have experience with pits.

Common Causes

• An inherited tendency to have this facial feature
• A genetic syndrome which has preauricular pits or tags as one feature
• A sinus tract abnormality (an abnormal connection between the skin and underlying tissue)

Sources:

doctorhoffman.com

yourtotalhealth.ivillage.com

healthguide.howstuffworks.com

medterms.com

See larger image Your Newborn: Head to Toe: Everything You Want to Know About Your Baby's Health through The First Year (Paperback) By (author) Cara Familian Natterson List Price: $12.95 USD New From: $0.46 In Stock Used from: $0.01 In Stock

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