Ear surgery has a number of excellent benefits for patients. Aside from correcting a wide variety of ear imperfections, otoplasty is a safe procedure with very minimal risks involved. After the surgery, you only need to endure a short downtime of about one week. It also produces minimal scarring once healed, thereby giving you the most natural-looking results. You can even choose how your ears will look.

Those born with an ear defect or those who suffered a traumatic ear injury can also highly benefit from ear reconstruction surgery. Some of the conditions that this procedure can correct include microtia, macrotia, cleft ear, constricted ear, cat’s ear, and Stahl’s ear deformity, among others.

The benefits are not limited to physical ones. Children who undergo ear surgery at a young age can avoid being teased and bullied by their peers. This can improve their emotional and psychological conditions, hence translating to better confidence and self-esteem.

Candidates

There are several reasons and diagnosis that can be used to determine whether or not you are a good candidate for the procedure. One of them is an ear injury that caused a serious deformity in your ears. For instance, you might want to have an ear reconstruction surgery if you suffer from cauliflower ears—a condition wherein the ear’s cartilage gets separated from the membrane that covers it and gets filled with fluid, hence permanently deforming them.

Another condition that changes the appearance of the ears is skin cancer or malignant melanoma, so ear surgery can help reconstruct the tissue left over by skin cancer.

You should also consider having surgery if you are born with an ear defect. Whether you have small and underdeveloped ears (microtia) or abnormally large ears (macrotia), an ear surgery can help you. Other abnormal ear shapes, like ones shaped like a cup (lop ear) or like a question mark (Cosman ear) can also be solved by ear reconstruction. Even the absence of an earlobe—a condition known as Cagot ear—will highly benefit from an otoplasty.

Children who are being constantly teased by their peers because of protruding, overly large, or abnormally-shaped ears can undergo reconstructive surgery with the consent of their parents. Adults who suffer from the same problems should consider ear pinning as this can dramatically improve their looks and make them feel more confidently beautiful.

Aging can also make the earlobes less elastic, so surgery can help fix these loose earlobes. Many women forty and older request for an earlobe reconstruction due to this reason.

For a more detailed look on the reasons behind ear reconstructive surgery in Miami, check out the 4 Reasons Why You Should Get an Otoplasty in Miami.

Otoplasty for Children

It might seem hard to believe that children can get plastic surgery at such a young age, but otoplasty in children is the most popular cosmetic procedure being done for pediatric patients. In fact, it is recommended that ear pinning for kids should be done during infancy, specifically during the first few weeks of their life when the cartilage in the ears is still moldable. If they miss this window period, they have to wait until they are at least five years old before their ears become stiff enough to undergo the procedure.

Getting an ear reconstructive procedure before they start to go to school can help avoid any potential psychological trauma that they may have as a result of teasing from other children.

Types

In reality, otoplasty is an umbrella term for a number of procedures that aim to enhance the appearance of the ears. Depending on the reason for your reconstruction, you can choose among the different types of ear surgery that is right for you.

Ear Pinning

Ear pinning is one of the most common types of plastic surgery on ears being requested by children and adults alike. It is called as such because it ‘pins’ the ears closely to the head so that it does not protrude too much. It is usually performed under local anesthesia with a sedative for adults and general anesthesia for children.

In ear pinning, the cosmetic surgeon makes an incision behind the ear to expose the cartilage. He then reshapes the cartilage and removes excess skin. Finally, he repositions the ear more closely to the head and then closes the incision using sutures or non-removable stitches.

Ear Reduction

Another type of otoplasty is ear reduction, which is best for patients who are concerned with the size and shape of their ears rather than their protrusion from the sides of the head. It can sculpt large ears and make them look more natural. It can also be combined with earlobe reduction, especially for older adults.

During ear reduction, the plastic surgeon removes unwanted cartilage and skin, then reshapes the ear into a smaller one. Ear reduction surgery can provide balance and symmetry to the face.

Reconstructive Ear Surgery

Finally, there is reconstructive ear surgery, which is a type of otoplasty geared towards correcting congenital and acquired deformities caused by injuries, lacerations, burns, infected piercings, or even skin cancer. It makes use of a variety of surgical techniques to recreate a natural-looking ear. There are even instances when cartilage from the patient’s ribs are transplanted to his ears to help them attain a more natural appearance.

Procedure

Speaking of surgical techniques, there are many techniques that surgeons employ to accomplish the end results of otoplasty. It all depends on the amount of correction required by the patient’s ears.

One of the most common surgical techniques in antithetical fold manipulation, which is used for patients with congenital ear defects. After making an incision on the patient’s antithetical fold in the ear, the surgeon applies pressure on the cartilage to shape the ear to its desired appearance.

The aforementioned technique is often paired with conchal alteration, which affects the ear’s conchal cartilage—the largest and deepest concavity of the external ear. In this technique, the cosmetic surgeon decreases the conchal angle by 25 degrees, and then the cartilage is sutured to a bone below the ear in order to hide the scars.

Those who complain of abnormally large or prominent ears might undergo a surgical technique known as correction of earlobe prominence. The surgeon cuts the skin over the medial surface of the earlobe. He takes a small bit of cartilage off the conchal undersurface. He then pulls the earlobe towards the region where he took a bit off the conchal cartilage and then sutures them together to create a more natural-looking pair of ears.

If a patient has severely deformed or even absent external ears, complete ear reconstruction is advised. An ear prosthesis is used to shape the skin that will serve as the new ears. The cartilage used to recreate the new ears can be taken from the patient’s ribs. This technique requires follow-up surgeries to properly form the earlobe and separate the pinna from the rest of the head.

Aside from these surgical techniques, there are also other non-surgical ear pinning alternatives that can be used, especially for infants. These include taping, designed splits, EarWell, and Ear Buddies.

Check out this article to learn more about techniques being used in otoplasty procedures.

Preparation

Just like any other cosmetic surgery, you need to find a qualified board certified cosmetic surgeon specialist who will do the procedure for you. Your initial consultation is crucial since this will determine if an ear surgery is the best treatment for your problem.

Your surgeon should be able to discuss the surgery in detail, including concerns like anesthesia, your medical history, and the costs associated with an ear surgery procedure. This is also the best time to ask your cosmetic surgeon any questions that you may have regarding the procedure.

For children, parents or guardians should make sure that they have discussed everything with their child, including all the details of the procedure and the expectations that he should have regarding the results. Understanding the child’s feelings is important as well.

As with other kinds of surgery, you should discontinue smoking and taking aspirin at least two weeks before an otoplasty. You should disclose to your doctor any medications that you are taking. You should also have a designated person to take care of you right after your plastic surgery on ears, even if there is only minimal downtime.

If you are receiving general anesthesia, you should start fasting at midnight before the morning of the surgery. It is advisable to cut your hair short or braid your long hair right before surgery in order to give your doctor more freedom during the operation. Make sure that you come in comfortable and loose-fitting clothing.

Keep in mind that the ear procedures normally take two hours or less, depending on the extent of the procedure.

Recovery

Right after surgery, you will be advised to drink only liquids, especially if you had general anesthesia. You can advance to solid food at your own discretion. Remember to drink lots of water to avoid dehydration and to hasten the healing process.

A few days after surgery, you need to wear a bandage dressing over the ears. Since you have to avoid putting pressure on your newly-operated ears, you need to sleep on your back during the first few days post-surgery. While you are allowed to shower, you have to make sure that you do not wet your dressings. Once you remove your bandage, you still have to wear a loose headband covering the ears before sleeping to prevent excessive pressure that may cause premature death of the ear’s skin cells.

Surgery recovery time ranges from seven to 10 days. Some patients are able to return to work after 72 hours, even though they still have to prevent straining the ears for a period of 10 weeks post-surgery. You can only resume exercising at least three weeks after surgery to allow healing to take place. Bruising and swelling are common for two to three weeks.

As for children, they can return to school after four days, though they should avoid physical education classes for at least three weeks.

Risks and Side Effects

In spite of the safety of otoplasty, it comes with a few risks. As previously mentioned, bruising and swelling at the surgical site are common, but it should go away within two to three weeks. You will develop a thin white scar behind the ear after healing, but this is inconsequential considering that it is hidden behind the natural crease of the ear.

If you only underwent reconstructive surgery for one of your ears, there is a risk that the changes during the healing process could make your ears asymmetrical. Stitches may also rise to the surface of the skin, necessitating removal. This might even inflame the skin and require you to undergo corrective surgery. There is also the risk of infection and development of blood clot, but these are quite rare.

You should consult your surgeon right away if you experience fever, excessive bleeding or swelling, or any trauma to your surgical site.

Otoplasty Miami Cost

The cost of otoplasty surgery depends on your desires, anatomy, and previous injuries. The ear surgery method that your cosmetic surgeon is going to use also matters. In general, the cost of pinning ears back in Miami range from as low as $1,700 to as high as $7,000. Complete ear reconstruction costs even higher.

If you are planning to use your insurance to cover the costs, keep in mind that insurance companies typically cover this procedure when it corrects a deformity or a congenital defect. However, it usually does not cover if done for cosmetic purposes.

It is best to talk to your insurance company to know exactly which conditions it will cover. You can ask any of our cosmetic surgeons to write a letter to your insurance company explaining the nature of the surgery.

Need more information regarding otoplasty Miami? Do not hesitate to drop us a message and schedule an appointment with us at Face + Body Cosmetic Surgery in Miami, Florida. Our friendly, experienced, and board-certified cosmetic surgeons are more than happy to answer your questions and address your concerns.