CASE #1

This 24 year old woman presents with excessively prominent ears. She underwent an otoplasty to correct excessive prominence of the ears and is shown one year after the corrective surgery.

CASE #3

This 30 year old woman complained of excessively prominent ears that stuck out too much, and she underwent bilateral otoplasty and is shown three months after the corrective surgery.

Otoplasty and Earlobe Repair Surgery – Both children and adults may suffer from excessively protruding ears or large ear size. Fortunately, this is something that can be very successfully treated with modern plastic surgical techniques. With regard to children who have excessively prominent ears, it is generally advised that they wait until about age five or six before undergoing surgical correction. By this age, the ear has achieved approximately two thirds of its adult size, and the surgical procedure can be performed safely with a good chance of permanent correction. Adults of any age are also candidates for ear reshaping (otoplasty). The operation typically is performed under general anesthesia, but in adults, it may also be performed in our office under local anesthesia.

Dr. Handel makes a small incision behind the ear in an area where the scar will be unnoticeable. Through this incision, the ear cartilage is reshaped and sutures are placed to maintain the desired position of the cartilage to help create a better defined antihelical fold. At the same time, cartilage may be removed to set back the ears closer to the side of the scalp. Otoplasty is an easy procedure from which to recover, patients can generally return to school or work within just a few days, patient satisfaction is very high, and the risk of any complications is quite low. Dr. Handel will evaluate your case with regard to your specific anatomy and your desires to help custom tailor the operation to suit your needs.

Many patients who wear pierced earrings develop excessive stretching of the pierce hole and lengthening of the earlobe. This is a problem that can be corrected easily under local anesthesia in our office. Generally, the excessively stretched out earlobe opening is resected (surgically excised), and a few stitches are placed to close the defect. After the area has healed for six to eight weeks, the patient can have the earlobe repierced at the desired location.