If your ears stick out more than the average person, you may have asked yourself if anything can be done to make them smaller. The answer is yes! Otoplasty is a surgical procedure that reshapes and reduces the size of protruding ears by cutting away part of the cartilage from behind the ear’s curve. At Kaniff Cosmetic Medical Center in Sacramento, CA, we will help you achieve your desired appearance with more proportionate ears.
Can Otoplasty Make the Ears Smaller?
Understanding The Treatment
This cosmetic ear surgery aims to reposition or reduce protruding ears that have developed in an incorrect position. The treatment can also correct lop-sidedness, a condition where one ear droops lower than the other causing a significant difference between them. You may consider otoplasty if:
- You have long ears
- You have drooping ears
- You have a lack of antihelical fold
- You want to even out your ears
- You want to correct lop-sidedness
Who Is A Good Candidate?
This surgery is recommended for those who have ears that stick out more than the average ear. People with smaller and less prominent ears do not benefit from this surgery as much. Those who are unhappy about their protruding or prominent auricles may be good candidates, depending on how far they deviate from normal anatomy.
Children and teens whose self-esteem is affected by the appearance of their ears can also consider this treatment to help boost confidence levels before entering adulthood. This procedure works best for children ages six and older. That’s because kids’ bones aren’t fully developed yet, so it’s difficult to predict what an adult face will look like when a child grows up.
What Surgery Is Like
In most cases, this cosmetic ear surgery is performed under local anesthesia. However, in some cases, general anesthesia might be used depending on the patient’s age and other factors. The doctor will shave off the hair from around your ear before surgery to ensure a clean incision line.
It’s recommended not to eat or drink anything for at least six hours before surgery as well as take nothing by mouth following midnight that day either. You must also remove all make-up, nose rings, piercings, etc., beforehand because they increase the risk of complications during the recovery process.
How Is The Surgery Performed?
The surgeon makes an incision behind the ear and pulls back the skin to expose the cartilage. The surgeon will then use a scalpel, or high-speed drill with a tiny wire loop on it, to remove some of this extra cartilage in order to make the ear smaller. Once this is finished, he or she will use a suture to close up the incision and adjust how it looks from behind by pulling down on either side of the ear.
In most cases, the surgery takes about one to two hours, depending on whether other procedures are done at that time.
What To Expect After The Surgery?
After this procedure, the patient is recommended to stay at home with their head elevated for 24 hours. For the first week, they should sleep with a pillow under their head and avoid sleeping on that ear side. The patient’s ears will need time to heal, so it is important not to do anything which could irritate them during this period.
Wearing hats or any other tight-fitting clothing over your ears may also cause injury. However, you can wear normal clothes right after surgery as long as you don’t pull too tightly around your ears.
When Are The Results Appreciable?
The time frame as to when results are appreciable is different for each case. Most of the time, after three months have passed since the operation, you will be able to observe appreciable changes in your ears. The results are most notable when it comes to rim cartilage procedures because this is where they make the most significant difference in size and shape.
However, there can still be some noticeable differences even without doing anything on that part. Depending on how big or small your ear was before surgery (and what type of procedure has been performed), full results might not appear until about four or five months later when the ears have healed completely – but again, every patient is different.
What Are the General Instructions And Follow-Up Care?
Your doctor should provide you with detailed instructions regarding your recovery at the end of your consultation. These will include aftercare, medications that may be prescribed, and specific postoperative complications to watch out for during recovery.
General instructions include avoiding using harsh chemicals, such as hair dye and bleach. You may also need to apply prescribed medications to areas where the surgery was performed. These instructions should be followed for a minimum of two weeks before returning to work or school after the procedure (if applicable).
What Causes Ears To Stick Out?
There are several reasons why ears can end up sticking out. One of the most common causes is having a large overlying cartilage flap, usually caused by trauma or infection. This condition is known as a “shell ear deformity,” where the outer rim of your ear can be crushed while leaving the middle intact, resulting in an enlarged appearance.
Another cause is having large conchal bowls, which cause ears to stick out rather than lay flat against the side of your head. This occurs due to extra cartilage that forms inside both portions of your ears, making them larger and more pronounced. Our surgeons regularly perform cosmetic ear surgery to reduce or eliminate these conditions so that you have less prominent-looking ears afterward.
Should I Stick to A Special Nutrition After Surgery?
A healthy diet with adequate protein intake is especially important for wound repair, but this should not be too much trouble after surgery since most patients feel like eating heartily to help heal their ears faster at any rate. A balanced and nutritious meal plan full of fresh produce will also provide plenty of iron and zinc that can speed up scar tissue formation.
What Are The Benefits?
There’re many reasons that people undergo this treatment, but one of the most common is that someone wants to have smaller ears. Our knowledgeable and well-respected medics will listen to what benefits you aim to achieve and make it a dream come true for you.
It Corrects Numerous Issues
Most people opt for this treatment to correct protruding ears, but it can also be used to address issues such as head shape abnormalities and sagging earlobes. In some cases, this surgery is performed on infants for medical reasons when a child has an eardrum that did not close properly while they were in the womb.
It Boosts Self-Confidence
Cosmetic ear surgery can indeed improve physical appearance, but many patients say it also boosts their confidence. Those who are embarrassed by the shape of their ears or how far they stick out may avoid certain activities and social events because of low self-esteem. Since people often associate beauty with high self-confidence, improving your looks could lead to a better overall quality of life.
It Renews the Sense of “Normalcy”
Some patients have said that this treatment renewed their sense of “normality” by helping them feel more comfortable about themselves. People who are not satisfied with their ears’ size, shape, or angle might go through life feeling like they don’t fit in. However, an ear surgery procedure could help them look and feel more like everyone else. This is especially true for children since it can affect self-esteem at a young age when social interactions are just beginning to take place.
It’s Reasonably Safe
With less invasive surgical techniques being introduced all of the time, otoplasty has become a minimally invasive type of plastic surgery for ears. It carries much lower risks than more extensive reconstructive ear surgeries like Stahl’s Bar Procedure (ear pinning). This means that patients can expect faster healing times since they don’t have to deal with scarring after their surgery anymore.
Look And Feel Your Best
Otoplasty is a fantastic way to enhance the appearance of your ears. It reshapes prominent ears so they are less noticeable or more proportional with one’s face by making them smaller, straighter, lifted, or pinned back closer against one’s head. When you visit our medical center, our physicians will determine whether or not this treatment is the right option for your ears. Contact Kaniff Cosmetic Medical Center in Sacramento, CA today to learn more.
