Ear surgery usually involves making the protruding ear or ears fit to the head, this is the most commonly required type of aesthetic surgery. Less frequently, we reduce the size of the earlobes, perform partial or complete ear replacement or correct other rare deformities.
The surgery can be performed after the age of 6, there is no upper age limit, most often it takes place in childhood or young adulthood. The procedure is relatively simple for an experienced plastic surgeon, does not impose a serious burden on the patient, and there may be a very small number of complications.
The surgery is performed under local anaesthesia, general anaesthesia is not required. The procedure is preceded by a laboratory test. The aesthetic injection is given into the earlobe of the patient lying on the operating table, which is accompanied by a stretching pain for a few seconds but has an immediate effect and no pain or discomfort is expected during the operation. During the surgery we reshape and bend the ear cartilage, remove a part of the cartilage if necessary, and then fix the new shape with internal stitches. To do this, we make an incision a few centimetres long on the back surface of the earlobe, which is closed at the end of the surgery with a single running stitch, and which heals with a thin line scar hidden behind the ear. No incision is usually made on the anterior or outer visible surface of the auricle, so no trace of surgery will be seen later. There is no need to cut or shave the hair in the area around the procedure. The duration of the operation is approx. 1-1.5 hours.
At the end, a strap-like bandage is placed on the head, running around the ears, forehead and nape of the neck, but leaving the scalp free, so the bandage can be covered on the side and back with longer hair.
The surgery is done in an outpatient setting, which means you can leave the clinic after a short, half-hour rest. At home, two to three days of rest is recommended, during this time preferably bed rest, and then afterwards, if the bandage is not disturbing, easier mental or physical work can be done. However, strenuous sports or physical work that would involve sweating in the bandage should be avoided. 3-4 hours after the procedure, the effect of the aesthetic solution disappears, there is a dull, burning or throbbing pain, which mainly causes complaints on the first night. An analgesic tablet may be needed. This pain decreases within days and then disappears.
The bandage does not need to be changed, the removal of the bandage and the stitches (which otherwise only takes a few minutes and does not hurt at all) is on the 6-9. day depending on the type of surgery. This time the new shape is visible, the lobe fits to the head, but it may be even more swollen, wrinkled or pink. These abnormalities vanish in a few days, and the results will remain for the whole life. Recrudescence is very rare, only in about 1 % of cases. Hair-washing on the day of the bandage removal is possible, but swimming, hairdresser, hair dyeing for 2-3 weeks are not recommended. For two to three weeks after removing the bandage, it is necessary to wear a strap, Ramofix net, during sleep.
Complications are rare, bleeding of the operated area is almost impossible due to the special tight bandage, not more than 1%. Inflammatory complications are very rare and have a thousandth probability in sterile surgery in an area with good blood supply. Abnormal scar formation is a rare complication, keloid propensity increases the likelihood of occurrence, however, it is very rare. After surgery, sensory disturbances occur in 4-5% of cases, in which case the auricle may be more sensitive to touch or less sensitive, possibly strange feeling, numbness may occur. These symptoms usually disappear within a few weeks, and in some cases the numbness may persist for months. Surgery does not affect your hearing in any way, hearing loss or other hearing problems cannot occur even in the case of complications.
