Ear Correction

What makes the ears appear prominent?

1) No two ears are identical (Victorians used ears rather than finger tips for identification).

2)The ear may just be very large. You can not make them smaller (without significant scarring).

3)The middle part of the ear or concha may be too wide.

4)There may be no antihelical fold in the ear.

5) The ear does not stick out further than 2 cms from the side of the head.


The Operation

The operation is called pinnaplasty, otoplasty or bat ear correction

Adults: Usually the operation is done under Local Anaesthesia.
Children: Is done as a day case under General Anaesthesia.

The ears are marked out with a pen.
An incision is made on the back of the ear.
The absent or poor antihelical fold is created by weakening the cartilage and modelling it with permanent sutures.
The conchal excess is overcome by rotating the ear backwards (or sometimes the concha is reduced to achieve a better result).
Dissolving sutures are used to close the skin.
Foam and a head band are used as a dressing.