Prominent ear correction (otoplasty/pinnaplasty)
BAAPS (British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons) states on their website that approximately 1 to 2% of the UK population consider their ears to be too prominent. Family trends can be inherited and prominent ears are something that can easily be handed down through the generations.
Many adults with larger ears will remember being teased at school about their protrusions. Children can have the cruellest of opinions and cause upset and suffering for anyone whose ears are imbalanced or prominent. This can also affect them as they grow into adults, with self-confidence issues and further embarrassment about the way they look.
It doesn’t have to be this way however as there is a relatively straightforward surgical solution which can be done as a day case in hospital.
Marc Pacifico, a Consultant Plastic Surgeon at McIndoe Surgical Centre performs many of these procedures throughout the year on children and adults alike and gives a little insight into what happens.
“When correcting prominent ears, the underlying cartilage in the ear (the rubbery skeleton of the ear) is reshaped using specially-placed internal stitches via an incision in the crease at the back of the ear. The reshaping of the cartilage corrects the prominence of the ear (it is nothing to do with tightening the skin behind the ear). The procedure is either done under a local (with you awake) or a general anaesthetic (with you asleep) as a day case (in and out of hospital in the same day), although you should not drive on the day of surgery (if an adult). This is a reliable and safe operation that will give you a permanent correction of your prominent ears and takes around 90-minutes.
However, there is a reported recurrence rate of up to 10% – this means that for every 10 ears that are corrected, 1 may “ping” back. This may be due to the stitches snapping as a result of the ear being knocked, or from infection or bleeding in the ear afterwards. If this happens, the operation can be redone at a later date with good results.”
Don’t suffer in silence – for a consultation with Marc Pacifico or any other surgeon at McIndoe Surgical Centre contact our dedicated helpline on 0800 917 4922 or visit the website at www.mcindoesurgical.co.uk – you may be interested to know that we host monthly free open evenings at the hospital where you can find out more from the surgeons who host the events.
