Otoplasty

What is otoplasty?

Otoplasty is surgery to correct structural ear abnormalities. This reshaping surgery aims to provide a more natural appearance to your ear and can improve self-confidence. It doesn’t impact or improve a person’s ability to hear sounds.

Why do people get otoplasty?

People might get otoplasty if they were born with:

• Misshapen ears or ear lobes.
• Protruding ears.
• Small, constricted ears.
• Ears with missing cartilage.

The symptoms listed above are congenital conditions. (“Congenital” means you’re born with it.) But surgeons also perform otoplasty on people who sustained ear injuries or trauma during a traumatic event (like car wrecks, dog bites or sports-related injuries).

Cauliflower ear is a common injury among boxers, wrestlers and mixed martial artists. If you have permanent damage as a result of cauliflower ear, your surgeon may recommend otoplasty.

What’s the best age for otoplasty?

Anyone with fully developed ears can get otoplasty. That said, surgeons perform the majority of otoplasty procedures on children after age 4. Some adults choose otoplasty as well.

What are the different types of otoplasty?

There are different types of otoplasty, including:

• Ear pinning.
• Ear reduction.
• Ear augmentation.

Ear pinning

Surgeons recommend this type of otoplasty if you or your child have prominent ears that stick out. The goal of ear pinning is to bring your ears in closer to the sides of your head and reshape malformed cartilage.

Ear reduction

People with large or oversized ears (macrotia) may benefit from an ear reduction. During this procedure, a surgeon will remove tissue to make your ears smaller.

Ear augmentation

Sometimes, people have misshapen ears, small ears or ears that haven’t fully developed (microtia). The goal of ear augmentation is to increase the outer portion of your ear. This usually requires cartilage or tissue grafting.