OTOPLASTY

Otoplasty, or an ear job, is a surgical procedure designed to set prominent ears closer to the head, to improve their overall shape, or to reduce their size. Prominent ears can be in a myriad of forms, including cup ear, shell ear, bat ear, and lop ear. Many patients attempt to camouflage the deformity with hairstyling.

Often typified by failure of the outer rim of the ear to fold back toward the scalp during fetal development, this defect results in outward protrusion of the ears, and thus undue prominence. This ear deformity often results in taunts by other children, and is thus thought to best be repaired before a child enters school.

Surgical repair involves exposing and reshaping the deformed ear cartilages, creating the missing ear folds, and positioning the ears in proper location adjacent to the mastoid bones of the skull. A special contour-conforming ear-dressing is used for about 5-7 days post-op to prevent disruption of the repair, and a protective head-band is recommended for six weeks to protect the repair and allow it to stabilize.