Who Needs It

Who are the patients at the plastic surgeon’s office who decide to undergo ear surgery, or otoplasty? First, those people who were an object of someone’s jokes in their childhood, or even children who are so annoyed by different cruel nicknames concerning their ears.

Ears are a part of the head that don’t get too much attention if they are of a normal size and shape, and are very “remarkable” if their size is bigger. Protruding ears may be a real disaster for their owner. The skills and abilities of plastic surgeons seem to know no boundaries today. They may not only “pin back” your ears, but also change their shape and size. And this thing may really add some self-esteem.

Understand the Process

Ear surgery is a serious procedure needing experience from a surgeon. But the results that are visible afterwards (see before and after pictures) are very impressive. First, remember and do not worry — ear surgery doesn’t affect a patient’s hearing ability, it only deals with the shape and size of ears. Sometimes doctors advise to have otoplasty in childhood for a better ability of the children’s organs and tissues to be reshaped and to heal.

A consultation at the surgeon’s office will include an examination of the ears, their structure, and the complaints of the patient. Then a doctor will think how he can improve the outlook and reduce the problem and the subject of complaint. If a patient wants to correct only one ear and “pin it back”, then a surgeon may recommend to correct both ears for the reason to achieve the symmetry.

Afterwards, a patient will receive detailed explanations about anesthesia. A general kind of anesthesia is usually applied during the ear surgery if a patient is young, and a local kind is applied for older kids, teenagers and adults. Generally, otoplasty takes about two hours. During the very surgery a doctor makes an incision in the area where the ear joins the head. This procedure is followed by the removing of some cartilage and skin in order to satisfy the complaint of the patient. If the patient doesn’t like the shape of cartilage then a surgeon reshapes it as well.

Rehabilitation

A patient may feel some discomfort after the surgery. It includes some painful moments and discomfort while sleeping because for the first couple of weeks you will have to sleep on your back and put no pressure on the ears. A doctor may also prescribe to use headbands for a dozen of days to fix the ear in a right position to reach a desirable effect.