Otoplasty

Otoplasty, which is sometimes referred to as ear pinning, is the general term used to describe a surgery to correct the shape, position, or proportion of your ears. For example, if your ears stick out too much or they’re simply too large, an otoplasty can correct these issues. In fact, an otoplasty can help those who have more severe deformities in their ears, whether they were born with them or an accident caused the problem.

Excessively large or protruding ears are often a source of ridicule, teasing, and embarrassment. Aesthetic ear surgery, called otoplasty, can reshape the “outstanding” ear by altering its size, position, or configuration. The improvement, which lasts a lifetime, usually results in less self-consciousness and greater self-confidence.

We offer different types of ear plastic surgery, and happy to sit down with you to review your concerns and your goals. In most cases, we are able to perform the surgery in our office surgical suite, but for more complex cases are performed in a hospital setting.

Most ear plastic surgeries involve making an incision on the back side of your ear so that the surgeon can thin or cut away the cartilage to give your ear a more normal position and configuration. Our surgeons use stitches to hold your cartilage in place and to close the incision. Afterward, they apply a dressing around your head so that both ears can be protected and the swelling and discomfort limited.

About

There are several variations of deformity of the ears, each of which must be treated in a different manner. Basically, otoplasty is performed to correct excess protrusion of the ears and place them in a more normal, less conspicuous position.

In an ideal world, your ears blend into your head without becoming the centers of attraction. Unfortunately, some ears don’t cooperate or you may have overdone it with your earrings. Whatever the case, if the shape of your ears is an issue Prime Plastic Surgery can help. From reshaping ears to repairing earlobes, our surgeons provide a comprehensive suite of ear surgery options to patients around the country. To learn more, call the office or use the online scheduling button. Please visit our photo gallery to see thousands of patient before and after images.

Excessively large or protruding ears are often a source of ridicule, teasing, and embarrassment. Aesthetic ear surgery, called otoplasty, can reshape the “outstanding” ear by altering its size, position, or configuration. The improvement, which lasts a lifetime, usually results in less self-consciousness and greater self-confidence.

Treatments Areas

Patients seek the help of a plastic surgeon to correct many problems with their earlobes, such as:

If you’re dissatisfied with the appearance of your earlobes, the odds are that Prime Plastic Surgery can help with a simple, in-office earlobe surgery.

Procedure

Incisions for ear surgery can usually be placed in hidden areas, such as within the folds of the ear or behind the ears. For protruding ears, the incisions are generally placed behind the ears. This is sometimes called “ear pinning,” in which the ears are permanently, internally sutured so that they remain in their new placement. These sutures are not visible.

The operation takes approximately 1 and 1/2 hours to complete and is not painful. If reshaping or resizing of the ears is necessary, the highly customized surgery can be expected to take 2-3 hours. The procedure consists of an incision on the back side of the ear, with the removal of a small segment of skin. The cartilage is exposed, and it is thinned or cut so that the ear will be placed in a normal position and have a normal configuration. Stitches are used to hold the cartilage in place and to close the skin incision. A bulky type dressing is applied completely around the head so that both ears can be protected, swelling minimized and discomfort limited.

Earlobe Repair

There are several variations of ear lobe repair surgery performed to either fix a torn, split, or stretched earlobe or to reduce the size. Some individuals are born with larger ear lobes and wish to have their ear lobe size surgically reduced due to self consciousness. Other individuals have split or torn ear lobes from either extended use of heaving earrings or pulling/tugging of the ear lobes, while some have stretched or gauged ear lobes from the continuing extension of an ear piercing. Either way all of these situations can be addressed most of the time through an earlobe repair procedure.

Candidates

Adults or children with ears that protrude or are misshapen or mismatched can benefit from otoplasty. While ear surgery can be performed at any age, it is important to consider whether the ear has achieved its nearly normal adult size, which usually occurs after five years of age.

Undergoing the procedure at a young age has two benefits: The cartilage is extremely pliable, allowing greater ease of shaping, and the young patient will experience the psychological benefits of the cosmetic improvement for his or her entire lifetime.

Of course, the surgery is also often performed on adults.

Recovery

In most cases, our patients are able to return to work or school within just a few days after otoplasty. We can provide medication to keep the patient’s discomfort to a minimum. There may be some swelling and bruising, but this does not usually last more than a couple of weeks.

Bandages will be applied to the ears. The patient should not wear ear phones or sleep on his/her side during the healing process. Strenuous exercise should also be avoided for a few weeks. During one of your follow-up examinations, your surgeon will let you know when these activities can be resumed.

Post-Op Care Instructions

FAQ