Ear Surgery
Prominent ears, also called protruding ears, are very common. This deformity is attributed to a genetic disorder of the cartilage in the ear. The best time for ear surgery or ear correction is when a person is five to six years old in order to prevent teasing and ridicule in school. Ear surgery on adults is of course also possible. With children, ear surgery is performed under general anaesthesia. With adults, only a sedation is used.
In case of general anaesthesia, hospitalisation of one day is required. When the patient is only sedated, hospital discharge will be admitted after one and a half hour.
Ear surgery procedure
First of all, the places where the incisions will be made, are marked. Then, the front- and backside of the ear are locally sedated. The sedative also contains adrenaline to minimize blood loss.
During ear surgery first, at the back side of the ear, skin tissue is removed by the plastic surgeon. Then, the cartilage will be cut and the skin on the front side of the ear will be dissected. On the front side, the cartilage will be scratched, making it to curl backwards. After careful staunching of the blood, the wound is closed, using self-absorbing stitches.
Ear surgery post treatment
Immediately after ear surgery, the patient’s head is wrapped in a circular head garment, which needs to be worn for one week. After that, the head garment is removed and the patient can take a shower without any problem. After showering, the backside of the ear must be carefully dried. If necessary, use a hairdryer. The stitches will disappear after two weeks.
In the first four weeks after the head garment has been removed, patient should be careful when resuming sport activities. During that period, it is advisory to wear a turban during the night to protect the ears.
TORN EAR LOBE REPAIR
Torn ear lobes are very common. The weight of an earring can contribute to the stretching and tearing of the ear lobe. The tear can be partially or completely.
Treatment: Torn ear lobe repair
The edges of the tear in the ear lobe are removed under local anaesthesia. Closing the wound by the normal procedure would result in a scar that is not firm enough to carry the weight of an earring. That is why the wound is closed by a Z-plasty, which means that the future earring will be carried by two little skin bridges. A new piercing is made voor the future earring. A sewing thread will keep this piercing open.
Afercare: Torn ear lobe repair
The day after the procedure the patient can take a shower. After 1 week the sewing thread is replaced by a light earring. The other stitches are removed after 10 days. It is recommended not to wear any heavy earrings for 3 months.