Ear Reshaping (Otoplasty)

You are suitable for Ear Reshaping surgery if you are:

+ Over 5 years old (when the ear cartilage is stable enough for correction)
+ Healthy individual with realistic expectations of what surgery can achieve
+ Do not have chronic or untreated ear infection

Surgery is typically performed under local anaesthetic, and can be completed in an hour or less.

There are many different techniques depending on whether your ear is being reshaped, resized or repositioned.

If your surgeon is aiming to pin your ears back closer to your head, your surgeon will start by making an incision along the crease-line behind your ear and remove any excess cartilage that is causing it to protrude. The ear is then pinned back along the fold to its new position, closer to the head.

Following the surgery, the area will be stitched up and a dressing wrapped around your head to support the cartilage in its new place.

Surgery is typically no longer than an hour. In complex cases, it may take a little while longer but no more than 2 hours.

The procedure itself takes place under local anaesthetic so you will be comfortable and not feel any pain.

Most patients only have minor pain and discomfort during the days following the ear reshaping surgery, this can be controlled with over the counter medications such as paracetamol and anti-inflammatory tablets.

Ears can be tender for 1-2 weeks following the initial surgery if the patient bumps their ear. However, by this time most patients are pain-free.

Yes, ear reshaping surgery results are generally permanent.

As long as you take care of your ears during the recovery period there should be no reason why your ears revert to their original position.

You should see results from your surgery almost immediately, but typically we recommend waiting for between 1 and 2 weeks to allow any bruising or swelling to subside, before you can expect to see your full results

We regard the healing cartilage like a healing bone and need to splint the ear in its new position as it heals.

We therefore provide all patients with a head bandage after surgery that must be worn for between 5 – 7 days.

If the surgery does not involve the cartilage, then a head bandage is not a requirement and the stitches can be masked with simple tape.

There is very little downtime after ear reshaping surgery.

We recommend you take a week off work, during which time you will need to wear a head bandage day and night to support the wound.

Your ears may be a little bruised and swollen during this time, and you will need to keep wearing the bandage support at night for at least 3 weeks.

Any discomfort is easily managed with painkillers, and normal washing and bathing is possible within a week.

You should make a full recovery anywhere between 4 to 6 weeks after surgery.

There should be no visible scarring following your ear reshaping surgery. This is because the incisions should be skilfully placed in the natural folds and lines of the ears or behind it, to ensure no scarring will be seen.

Otoplasty and Pinnaplasty are two technical names that are used interchangeably to reference cosmetic ear reshaping surgery.

You will need to wear a headband for 5 to 7 days to ensure your ears are maintained in the correct position post-surgery, and for up to a month at night after surgery whilst you are sleeping.

You can therefore expect to be wearing your glasses after 3 weeks after surgery, but can take longer. You should therefore consider buying prescription contact lenses for this time period.

It is extremely unlikely that an ear pinning procedure will affect your hearing.

The ear is made up of 3 parts: the outer ear (the pinna), the middle ear and the inner ear. All 3 parts contribute to hearing, but it is mainly the middle and inner ear that affect it.

Otoplasty surgery only concerns the outer ear so it is very unlikely that surgery to this area will affect your hearing.

Ear correction surgery may be possible on the NHS, particularly for children who need it for therapeutic (medical) reasons.

Cosmetic ear reshaping surgery is not possible on the NHS, except in very rare circumstances where severe psychological distress can be evidenced.

Although prominent or abnormal ears do not cause any hearing difficulties, they can be a source of bullying for children. It is therefore quite common for children to have an ear pinning.

Children should be 6 years of age or older since at this point the ears have fully matured. It is also preferable to wait for an age when a child is able to express their unhappiness with their appearance, and personally wish to have the position or shape of their ears corrected.

There are no differences in the surgical techniques used for children and adults, although children are more likely to have the procedure done under a general anaesthetic.

Otoplasty is minor surgery and complications are typically those associated with such surgery. This can include:

+ Asymmetry
+ Bleeding and bruising is the most common risk and there is always some swelling. The purpose of the head bandage is to reduce this risk and speed healing.
+ Scarring - scars are typically behind the ear and not visilbe, but on occasions, these scars can become hypertrophic, that is raised and pink, gradually resolving over some months, or even keloid with scars that continue to grow to the point where they may become visible. We can mitigate this with the Cadogan Clinic scar treatment
+ Infection and necrosis (loss of tissue)
+ Numbness
+ Re-protrusion
+ Stiffness of the ear