Ear surgery

Alternative names:

otoplasty; pin back otoplasty

Definition:

A form of ear surgery performed to set disproportionately large or prominent ears closer to the head.

Description:

Thousands of otoplasties are performed successfully each year. The surgery may be done in the surgeon's office-based facility, in an outpatient surgical facility, or in a hospital. It may be performed under a local anesthetic which numbs the area around the ears, or under a general anesthetic which will cause sleep through the entire operation. The procedure usually lasts about 2 hours, depending on the extent of the surgery.

The most commonly employed technique is one in which the surgeon makes incisions in the back of the ear and removes skin to expose the ear cartilage. Sutures are used to fold the cartilage to reshape the ear. The same result in some instances can be achieved without sutures by cutting or abrading the cartilage before folding it. The skin incisions are sutured closed. The ear is brought closer to the head by creating a more pronounced fold (called the antihelix) in the central portion of the ear.

Indications:

The procedure can be performed on a child after the age of 4 years when ear growth is almost complete. When disfigurement is severe ("lop ears") a child should have surgery early to avoid possible emotional stress when he or she enters school.