-is performed under local anesthesia with sedation.

Usually both ears are done at the same time even if only one seems to need correction. This is done to assume symmetry. If one ear is changed,the other often seems out of alignment afterwards,even if it appeared normal before the operation.

Some people think that correcting protruding ears simply means pulling the ear closer to the head and sewing it into place. This actually is the way the operation was first performed in New York in 1881. However, it was not a satisfactory procedure. Ear cartilage has spring, and it eventually pulls on the skin. Since the skin is elastic, it gives in to this pull eventually, allowing the ears to return to their original position.

Skillful otoplasty as it is done today is a truly aesthetic procedure .The ear is not only permanently place closer to the head, but any structures that are underdeveloped or overdeveloped can be tailored and restructured to form a normal ear shape.

To correct protruding ears, the fibers on the front of the cartilage are divided and weakened, leaving the natural pull of the stronger fibers on the back with more power to bend the ear back naturally toward the head. To weaken the front cartilage, the surgeon cut it, breaking the natural springiness that has propelled the ear forward.

The incision is usually made behind the ear so that there are no marks or scars that are easily seen. In cases where front incisions are required, they are placed in a fold or natural crease so that the resultant scar simply follows the normal ear crease.

Any cartilage that has not folded properly to create a normal ear contour is also cut so that it can be adjusted. In the case of lop ears, where the antihelix is not unfurled, the surgeon works through the incision behind the ear to recontour the cartilage from the overlying skin, actually molding it to create a normal shape, sutures are used to hold the remaining cartilage in place.

Cup ears are usually corrected by removing excess cartilage in the concha. Shell ears are reformed by thinning the cartilage along the back edge of the ear causing the tissue to curl forward. For satyr ears, the pointed section is trimmed or tubed and suture into shape.

Post Operative Procedure

– The patient is taken to the recovery room and given ample time to recover from the sedatives.

– No ice or heat is used, just had dressing that covers the ears and goes around the head like football helmet.

– It is similar to facelift dressing. Because the ears are covered, hearing is slightly affected until the dressing is removed.

– There are no restrictions on sleeping positions.

– Pain is not excessive, and after 24 hours patients seldom need any pain medication.

– The helmet dressing comes off in 1 week; the sutures will be taken out in from 1 to 2 weeks, depending on how quickly the wound heals.

– Once the dressing has been removed, the hair can be washed, using care and gentleness near the operative site.

– Driving also can be resumed within the dressing is off and the head can be turned comfortably from side to side.

Ear Surgery, it does not take weeks or months to see good results

– When the ear dressing is removed, the newly sculptured ear is easily visible and seen as corrected.

– Sometimes patient is advised to wear a ski band while sleeping for several months following surgery and there is a certain amount of bruising and discoloration, but it is not usually excessive.

– When the dressing are off and the patient goes out in public; it is not immediately obvious that plastic surgery has been performed. The improvement is permanent. Even when the operation is done at a very young age, the corrected ear grows normally along with the rest of the child’s of the body.

Possible Complications

Mostly watched for in ear surgery is hematoma or bleeding into the operative site. If this occurs, blood must be drained quickly because of the possible production of a secondary perichondritis, infections of the fibrous connective tissue of the cartilage, which can lead to loss of cartilage tissue. If the bleeding is not checked and excessive scarring occurs, the condition known as cauliflower ear may result, just as it does within bleeding caused by a blow.

Sometimes a new deformity can result from a corrective operation, if an ear is pulled back too much too little, overcorrection produces what is known as the telephone deformity,which looks as through someone had pressed a telephone receiver too hard against the ear. But when it does occur, the only remedy is further surgery. Ears surgery goes smoothly with few complications and highly gratifying results.