Ears are something that you’re born with and, for the vast majority of the population, they last for your entire lifetime. Considering that they are a vital part of the body and are utilized for one of the bodies major senses, a lot of people don’t think twice about them. Some choose to decorate them with tattoos and piercings, others use them purely for headphones, but for a lot of people they just sit on the sides of the head and often go unthought of and unnoticed. For some though, their ears are everything that they can focus on.
Those who have misshapen ears, or ears that protrude further than normal, will notice every tiny millimetre of their ears. Even something as small as 0.5cm could be a noticeable difference in the ears looking proportionate to the head and face, or ears that stick out and look like they are out of place. For a number of years now, there has been a solution to combat problems with the ears and this is known as otoplasty.
Otoplasty is just a fancy word to describe surgery that is performed to alter the appearance of the outer ear. Generally, there are two major forms of otoplasty which are reconstructive and cosmetic. Reconstructive otoplasty is performed to repair or build up the ear, potentially due to some form of deformity or accident, and cosmetic otoplasty is more often than not performed to make the ears less prominent and more proportionate to the face. Cosmetic otoplasty is then further classified down into three different major procedures, known as augmentation, otopexy and reduction. Ear augmentation is the form of otoplasty that is performed if the outer ear is underdeveloped, otopexy (which is also known as ear pinning) is performed to flatten ears that protrude too far from the head and reduction otoplasty is performed to reduce the size of the ears.
Prominent ears tend to be especially troublesome in children and younger patients as they tend to be subjected to bullying, but the surgery can be performed at any age for a patient struggling with their ears. The thing about the ears is that by the time a child reaches age five, their ears are already over 80% developed, so as they age past this point there will be very little change to the overall structure and appearance of the ear (for natural reasons anyway). Otoplasty can be performed at any age past this point and can provide brilliant and completely permanent results that last a lifetime.
There are some key points that you really need to keep in mind when researching otoplasty surgery though, some of which are;
Symmetry between the ears is rare
Whilst the ears are generally pretty similar, they aren’t actually symmetrical (we apologise if we’re making you overthink about your ears after reading this). There will always be some form of minor differences between them, from their protrusion from the head and exact size through to the amount of cartilage inside them. Undergoing otoplasty surgery can make them appear more similar, but there isn’t a surgeon that exists who will be able to make your ears perfectly symmetrical. Even without surgery, the natural folds and contours of the ear are always somewhat different between the two ears.
Results are permanent, but that doesn’t mean that stitches are
Whilst in the majority of cases, the final results are completely permanent, the same cannot be said about the stitches used during surgery. In some cases (a miniscule amount) it is entirely possible that a stitch can come undone which requires a follow up otoplasty surgery to correct it. Performing high contact or high energy activities where there is a lot of movement and risk of impact to the ears can result in the stitches coming out during activities, again leading to the need for follow up surgery.
Full recovery from surgery will take a while
This is an area where a number of patients worldwide are misinformed on a daily basis about otoplasty surgery and its associated aftercare. To achieve your final and optimal results, you’re really looking at a wait of at least a couple of months. This a contrast to what is spread by a number of online communities who state that it only takes a few days or weeks to fully heal.
After surgery, you need to pay close attention to the aftercare routine and it’s a requirement to wear a bandage around the head (covering both ears) for a week after surgery. After this point it’s safe to remove the bandages, but you will need to wear a headband day and night for around a month or so before you are only required to wear it at night for another month after that.
Otoplasty surgery isn’t painful
Whilst otoplasty is a surgical procedure and most people would expect there to be pain, it’s actually known for causing very little pain. The procedure is performed under some form of anaesthetic (so there is no pain during the procedure) and the recovery phase only has a small amount of pain associated, which can be managed easily with over the counter painkillers.
So there you have it, otoplasty works as a permanent solution to alter the appearance of the ears, but to achieve and maintain your best results it’s really important that you take care of your ears correctly. If you don’t, then it’s likely you will need to undergo a follow up correction surgery and will need to go through the entire aftercare process again. To find out more about otoplasty, or to book your no-obligation consultation, get in touch with our surgical team today.