Otoplasty

Types of Otoplasty (Ear Surgery):

There are many types of otoplasty. They are as follows:

Ear Augmentation:

It is a surgical procedure done to people who have small ears or ears which have not developed completely. In most of the cases, the individual may usually want to have otoplasty in order to increase the outer ear size.

Ear Pinning:

This type of surgical procedure usually involves drawing your ears closer to your head. It is usually performed on people whose ears stick out prominently mainly from the sides.

Ear Reduction Surgery:

It is a type of surgical procedure done to reduce ear size. Macrotia is an issue when your ears are actually larger than normal. Individuals with macrotia can choose to have surgical treatment in order to reduce the ear size.

Types of Ear Shapes and Abnormalities:

There are actually different types of ear abnormalities and they are as follows:

• Prominent Ear: It is when your ear sticks out 2 cm away from your head
• Constricted Ear (Lop ear/Cup ear): It is when the outer rim of your ear is either rolled or folded or ears pinned back
• Cryptotia: It is when the upper rim of your ear is actually tucked underneath your scalp skin or ears pinned back.
• Stahl’s Ear: It is a type of pointy shaped ear
• Macrotia: It is when your outer ear is actually underdeveloped or way too small.
• Anotia: It is when your ears are missing
• Congenital Earlobe Deformities: It is a type of ear where the individual has split or double earlobes. At times with usually skin tags
• Accessory Tragus (or ear tag): It is usually a bump of skin or the presence of cartilage in front of the ear

Treatment: (Ear Plastic Surgery or Ear Pinning Surgery)

Otoplasty surgical procedure usually involves the following treatment procedures:

Prior to the Treatment:

• Your doctor who is also a plastic surgeon will usually review your medical history during the first phase of your consultation
• Medications you take, the number of past surgeries you had as well as previous health conditions will be questioned by your doctor during consultation
• Your ear shape, placement as well as size will be examined. Measurements and pictures will also be taken
• Your doctor (plastic surgeon) will discuss the surgical procedure in detail with you prior to your surgery. The associated risks as well as otoplasty cost or ear pinning cost

During the Treatment:

• Your treatment mode will be done as an outpatient procedure. Normally it takes somewhere between one to two hours based on the complexity of your surgical procedure as well based on the specifics
• Local anesthesia will be then administered along with a sedative for adults as well as older children. In certain different cases, general anesthesia is normally used
• Younger children will be given general anesthesia in order to undergo otoplasty surgical procedure
• Your doctor or plastic surgeon will then make an incision. It is done either on your ear back or sometimes inside the ear folds.
• The tissue of your ear will then be manipulated, that usually include cartilage removal or skin folding or cartilage shaping with permanent stitches. Your doctor will also graft cartilage to your ear in certain cases.
• The incisions are closed with stitches by your surgeon once the procedure is done and dresses your ear

Otoplasty Recovery (Post-treatment and Prognosis):

• Recovery of your surgical procedure will at times depend to certain extent on the type of your surgery
• A protective headband is suggested to be worn by your doctor over the ears mainly at night time in order for your ears to be pulled forward
• Your doctor will advise to wash your ears after a couple of weeks
• Follow ups or consultation with your doctor will be suggested by your doctor

Cosmetic Ear Surgery Cost (Otoplasty Cost):

The cost of otoplasty in different countries are as follows:

• In India, otoplasty costs $1,660 approximately
• In UK, otoplasty costs $5,000 approximately
• In USA, otoplasty costs $4,600 approximately

Causes

Few of the causes of prominent ears which require otoplasty surgical procedure are as follows:

• Genetic features of due to health condition affecting cartilage growth
• Injury affecting your ear shapes
• Birth complications causing defects. (You will notice baby’s ears sticks out in this case)

FAQ

1. How to sleep with ear infection positions?

Rest your head with more pillows, so that the affected ear is actually higher than the rest of your body. If your left ear got an infection, then sleep on the right side. The less pressure you give to your infected ear, you will have less ear pain.

2. Why do old people have big ears?

When you get older, gravity will cause the cartilage of your ears as well as nose to break down, thus causing sagginess. This actually results in a droopier as well as longer ear feature.

3. How to make your ear smaller?

Otoplasty, a cosmetic surgical procedure where your doctor reshapes as well as reduce the size of your ear can make your ear smaller.

4. Do your ears keep growing?

Yes, as we age our ears as well as our nose tend to grow. Gravity is the reason causing the cartilage in your ears to droop.

5. How to get rid of earlobe creases?

Blood pressure as well as cholesterol should be kept in control, since the both are usually the high risk factors causing earlobe creases.