WHAT IS EAR SURGERY?
Ear surgery, also known as otoplasty, is designed to reposition or “pin back” protruding ears. It is most commonly performed during childhood before the child begins school. While ear surgery is more commonly performed on children, an increasing number of adults want surgical help to have ears that are in harmony with the rest of the face. Even though only one ear may appear to protrude excessively, it is usually necessary to correct both in order to get the desired result.
Ear surgery commonly takes one to two hours, depending on the complexity of the case. In most instances, the incisions made to reposition the ears are positioned in back of the earlobes, resulting in very thin scars that are normally indistinguishable.
Click here to see otoplasty before and after photos.
HOW IS EAR SURGERY PERFORMED?
Dr. English may perform ear surgery on adults using either local or general anesthesia. When performing this surgery on children, he prefers them to be fully asleep. Otoplasty can take as long as two hours, which is far too long for most children to remain still. At Dr. English’s surgery center in Little Rock, AR, ear procedures are done using an incision placed directly behind the ear, ensuring there is no apparent scars.
HOW LONG WILL RECOVERY BE?
Following your procedure, Dr. English will apply a very large surgical dressing, which must remain in place for approximately 24 hours. Afterwards, the patient wears a headband 24 hours a day for the following two weeks. After that time, the headband may be worn only at night for the ensuing two-week period. The purpose of the headband is to protect the ears from sudden changes in positioning during the early critical healing stages that follow surgery. You can resume normal activities in about two weeks; however, you should refrain from participating in contact sports for as much as six weeks. Dr. English’s patients reported that at first, the ears felt numb and looked flat against the side of the head. Mild bruising is common, but should not last any longer than two to four weeks. Like with other facial plastic and cosmetic surgery procedures, our patients report very little discomfort, and many claim that most everything feels better in as little as four or six weeks.