HONOLULU OTOPLASTY
Otoplasty, also known as cosmetic ear surgery, can correct a wide variety of issues that an individual may have with the appearance of their ears. Dr. Tan is a double-board-certified facial plastic surgeon who understands the important role the ears play when it comes to the overall appearance of a person’s face. She can provide you with the natural-looking results you are looking for.
What Is Otoplasty?
Otoplasty (ear pinning) is a cosmetic procedure to improve the appearance of the ears.
Whether you are a child or an adult, having an undesirable ear shape can take a serious toll on your self esteem. Children with distortions to the ear’s physical appearance can suffer years of teasing from peers. In turn, this can lead to lower self-confidence as they grow, even carrying over into adulthood. Today, there is simply no reason to suffer because of what you don’t like about your ears. Through otoplasty (ear cosmetic surgery), corrections can be made in a short amount of time that will have lasting positive effects on you and your life.
Ear pinning surgery does not affect hearing, and provides significant psychological benefits to anyone who is teased about ear size and/or shape, has had a serious ear injury, or simply wants to improve his or her appearance. Otoplasty is most often performed to set unusually protruding ears closer to the head. The goal of the surgery is simply to make the ears less noticeable.
Candidate For Otoplasty
Prominent ears can be one of the most noticeable features of one’s face. This can be due to an overly enlarged or overly protruded ear. Oftentimes, patients tend to hide their ears behind their hair and are very self-conscious about wearing certain hairstyles. Otoplasty/ear pinning is the perfect procedure for prominent ears and can be performed even in children.
Candidate For Otoplasty
Prominent ears can be one of the most noticeable features of one’s face. This can be due to an overly enlarged or overly protruded ear. Oftentimes, patients tend to hide their ears behind their hair and are very self-conscious about wearing certain hairstyles. Otoplasty/ear pinning is the perfect procedure for prominent ears and can be performed even in children.
Frequently Asked Questions
What to expect during otoplasty surgery?
The procedure begins with a numbing shot behind the ear that is able to make the entire ear numb. If an incision is required, the surgery will be performed in the operating room. Each side takes about 30 minutes. All sutures placed to create ear folds or pin the ear are permanent sutures. All sutures used to close the skin will dissolve on their own. The incisionless otoplasty technique is used to create an antihelical fold and is done by hiding the sutures under the skin.
What happens during my consultation?
The most important aspect of this surgery is precision and a careful analysis of where corrections need to be made. Oftentimes, the outer cartilage (the antihelix) is not folded and a simple suture technique is all that is required. In other cases, the ear can be prominent and protruding centrally, requiring an approach that uses an incision behind the ear. During your consultation, Dr. Tan will mimic both techniques in order to determine which is best for getting ears pinned back.
What is the recovery and aftercare like?
You typically will have a tight compression bandage on for 24 hours. Once that comes off, you can shower. You should expect some bruising on the ears and the ears will be pretty swollen for ~7 days. After 24 hours, you will switch to a compression headband that needs to be worn for 1 week. The average patient needs pain medication for 2-3 days. If you have the incisionless technique, your recovery will be even easier.
You can resume working out after your sutures have dissolved. You should see significant improvement immediately after the surgery, but need to wait a bit for the swelling to go down to see the final result.
Is otoplasty result permanent?
As long as the sutures hold, the results will last. While sutures can always pop, the cartilage can retain memory and not move. Generally, you will see your ears move out over the first 6 weeks and then it is unlikely they will change position.
What are the risks and complications associated with otoplasty?
Complications of otoplasty are rare and usually minor. A small percentage of otoplasty patients develop a blood clot on the ear or an infection in the cartilage. These issues may resolve on their own or be treated medically through intervention or antibiotics. Other possible complications include possible minor asymmetry or a change in skin sensation at the surgical site. We recommend masks not be worn behind the ears also.
