Perhaps you’ve endured more than your fair share of jokes about your ears when you were younger or, as an adult, you feel that your ears are attracting too much attention because they stick out.
Whatever has brought you to our blog, you’re here because you’d like to explore solutions for ears that you feel stick out too much — and we’ve got them.
At McHugh Plastic Surgery, Dr. Thomas McHugh endeavors to offer a full suite of plastic surgery services that meet most cosmetic goals from head to toe. And this includes facial surgeries like eyelid surgery and otoplasty (ear surgery).
Here’s a look at otoplasty and why it’s a great solution for ears that could do with a little reshaping or repositioning.
Most patients who come to us for ear surgery want to resolve one or more of these issues:
About 5% of the general population is born with ears that we refer to as prominent, while you may simply think of them as sticking out too much.
Another issue we see are ears that don’t line up with one another. Most often, this comes down to one ear being higher or larger than the other, creating an imbalance.
Otoplasty is a good procedure if an ear has been misshapen or damaged by trauma.
Another reason why people turn to an otoplasty is because they have macrotia, which describes overly large ears. Through ear surgery, we can make the ears more proportionate to your head and face.
We also want to note that if you’re exploring an otoplasty for a child, we generally wait until after five years old, which is when the cartilage stops growing and ears take on their final shapes and positions.
Since there are different objectives when we perform an otoplasty, we won’t get into too many particulars about the ear surgery itself. What we can say is that we perform most of these procedures in under an hour, using only local anesthesia, and you’re free to go home afterward.
We also take great care to hide any incisions behind your ear so there won’t be any obvious evidence of an ear surgery. Ears tend to heal quickly, and your results are near immediate — in just a few days, you can show off your “new” ears.
If you’d like to consult with us on improving your ears through an otoplasty, we’re happy to help. To get the ball rolling, please contact us today at our office in The Woodlands, Texas, to schedule an appointment.
