Cauliflower ear
permanent deformity caused by physical trauma to the ear
Cauliflower ear is an irreversible condition that occurs when the external portion of the ear is hit and develops a blood clot or other collection of fluid under the perichondrium. This separates the cartilage from the overlying perichondrium that supplies its nutrients, causing it to die and resulting in the formation of fibrous tissue in the overlying skin. As a result, the outer ear becomes permanently swollen and deformed, resembling a cauliflower, hence the name.
The condition is common in wrestling, boxing, and kickboxing, in martial arts such as Brazilian jiu-jitsu, judo, sumo, and mixed martial arts, and in full-contact sports such as rugby union and rugby league.
Presentation
People presenting with possible auricular hematoma often have additional injuries (for example, head/neck lacerations) due to the frequently traumatic causes of auricular hematoma. The ear itself is often tense, fluctuant, and tender with throbbing pain. However, because of potentially more remarkable injuries often associated with auricular hematoma, it can easily be overlooked without directed attention.
Diagnosis
Perichondral hematoma and consequently cauliflower ear are diagnosed clinically. This means that the medical provider will make the diagnosis by using elements of the history of the injury (examples: participation in contact sports, trauma to the ear, previous similar episodes) and combine this with findings on physical exam (examples: tenderness to the area, bruising, deformation of the ear contours) to confirm the diagnosis and decide on the appropriate treatment for the patient.
To assist with settling on the best form of treatment for cauliflower ear, Yotsuyanagi et al.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Cauliflower ear” as permanent deformity caused by physical trauma to the ear. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q886261. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Cauliflower ear” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.