Converting Prominent Ears to Attractive Ears with Octoplasty
Otoplasty is the medical term for changing the shape of the ear. Almost all cosmetic Otoplasties are done to correct prominent ears or cup ears. These ears stand significantly away from the head and are easily visible and prominent. A cup ear is also called a constricted ear and the ear is shaped somewhat like a cupped hand with a tight outside margin and a deeper central portion.
These prominent ears occur in both boys and girls. While the boys’ ears are usually much more visible due to the lack of hair, it’s more common for most Plastic Surgeons to perform this surgery on girls or young women. This is due to the fact that these girls or young women can not wear their hair pulled back or up and they become very self conscious regarding the appearance of their ears. Therefore the surgery can be very rewarding for both the patient and the surgeon. In fact frequently the parents of the young girls notice a real change in the girls’ self confidence and becoming more outgoing.
Ears are larger proportionally at birth than most aspects of the body. And they grow at a rate that result in the ears being approximately 90% grown by the age of six years old and by the age of seven or eight, fully grown. This means that the Plastic Surgeon is able to perform the surgery on a five or six year old if the parents feel that this is affecting the child, either due to their self consciousness or the way they are treated by other children.
San Diego Plastic Surgeons may vary in their choice for the setting for this surgical procedure. Some may use Children’s Hospital due to the hospital’s experience with general anesthesia for children. Other surgeons may feel comfortable in performing the surgery under either sedation or general anesthesia in a fully certified surgical operating room in their surgical suite. Either of these choices are appropriate and depend primarily on the surgeon’s and parents’ choice.
The surgery itself can be done in a number of ways. In my twenty-five years of practicing as a La Jolla Plastic Surgeon, I have done a large number of Otoplasties and realize that no single surgical technique will be able to obtain the optimal result. In my experience, a combination of the surgical techniques working together will create the very best results. Done in this way, Otoplasties are excellent and predictable in their appearance. The results should be absolutely natural and non surgical. One important technique to avoid, in my opinion, is to cut the ear cartilage, which allows it to fold back with a sharp edge. This sharp crease or edge is never seen in a normal ear and is never present in nature. This sharp edge pulls any persons attention to this abnormal contour. The cartilage always needs to be folded in a smooth and rounded way so as to look absolutely natural.
The surgery is done from an incision behind the ear. This incision creates a scar that both heals well and is essentially invisible due to its location. From this approach the deep curved portion of the ear, called the concha (means shell) is freed up and set back much closer to the side of the head and held there with sutures that can not be seen or felt. The crease (called the anti-helical fold) is then abraded to allow it to bend easier and then sutured so that the ear is no longer unfolded or prominent. Again these sutures are permanent and invisible. After the incision is closed the ear is protected with a special headband for the first few weeks until the scar tissue which holds the new ear-shape in place, becomes stronger.
While one may wish to make the ear closer to the side of the head, it’s also very important that the ear not be excessively folded or pinned immediately next to the head. This is a very unnatural and operated on look. The posterior outside portion of the ear should be approximately nine to twelve millimeters from the head. The entire goal of the surgery, as in any good plastic surgery, is to look pleasing, but also totally natural and un-operated on in appearance.
The only problem that I have personally have ever seen with this surgery has been a slight remaining prominence of the upper portion of the ear. If this does occur, this can usually be corrected with a small secondary surgery.
In summary, this is an excellent and very controllable surgery that should be able to produce very natural and attractive results in young people who are self-conscious about ears that are prominent.
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