| Microtia:
What causes Microtia:
 At the current time, no specific gene has been identified that causes 
        this condition, and almost never does someone with hemifacial microsomia 
        pass the trait on to his or her children (less that 5% chance). The exact 
        cause of this condition remains unknown but there is some experimental 
        evidence, published many years ago, that suggested if a small blood vessel 
        ruptures near the developing ear in mice before they are born (so this 
        area ends up getting less blood), after birth the mice will have an absent 
        ear. More likely, this condition results from an impaired flow of cells 
        (called neural crest cells), which arise adjacent to the spinal cord and 
        travel to the face to form the facial skeleton. We know that if not enough 
        of these cells are able to successfully migrate to their intended location, 
        the ear is either smaller, or absent. It has been suggested that some 
        medications may lead to this condition, but this is extremely hard to 
        prove. In conclusion, all current evidence suggests that many complicated 
        factors lead to microtia, and there is nothing that the mother did wrong 
        during pregnancy to cause this to happen.  Can my child hear out 
        of this ear? | Treatment<<More 
        About Microtia
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