What is Prominent Ear (Otoplasty) Surgery ?

Otoplasty is an ear shaping operation applied to remove prominent ear appearance, large ear appearance and insufficient folds in the auricle. Success rate and patient satisfaction are high. Prominent ear surgery is performed by aesthetic plastic surgeons

What is prominent ear and who is a candidate for surgery ?

The ears are located on both sides of the face and are almost always conspicuous when viewed from the front. For this reason, they are directly effective on facial beauty. Prominent ear is when the angle between the head and the ear is wider than normal. When these people are viewed from the front, the auricle is more prominent and the natural "Y" shaped folds of the auricle are either erased or less pronounced than normal. In people with prominent ears, this can lead to psychological and social problems that reduce the person´s quality of life. Ridiculing among friends often begins at school age. It can lead to the need to cover their ears with their hair, low self-esteem, anxiety, distorted body image and even depression. The reason why the ear looks prominent is actually due to the fact that its anatomy is different from normal ears. From an early age,women try to hide the ears, avoiding collecting their hair. Men may also complain that their friends make fun of their ears, especially since childhood

Prominent ear is usually inherited. In other words, if the parents have it, the child can also have it. It can be seen more in boys. Generally, there is no other disease accompanying prominent ear. The shape of the ear has no effect on hearing,and the problem is only a cosmetic problem. If it is noticed in infancy, this method does not provide a definitive solution, even if its progress can be stopped a little by applying a hair band. Prominent ear disorder can be fixed permanently only by surgery

When is Prominent Ear Surgery Performed ?

Since ear development is completed around 5 to 6 years of age, the most appropriate time for prominent ear treatment in children is the preschool period. When prominent ear surgery is performed in the pre-school period, psychological traumas and social problems that the child may experience in school life will be prevented. Performing prominent ear surgery in the preschool period also allows the child to adapt to the social environment more easily with his new appearance without deteriorating his body image, and prevents self-confidence problems. Considering that people with prominent ears mostly consult a doctor during adolescence and youth, it will be better understood that early treatment prevents psychological and social traumas

Operation

Prominent ear operation (Otoplasty) is usually performed under local anesthesia in operating room conditions and takes about 1 to 1.5 hours. General anesthesia may also be preferred in children. Prominent ear surgery is usually performed through incisions placed in the folds behind the ear and leaves almost no scars. The most common method is to weaken the excess cartilage in the ear by drawing or rasping, removing it when necessary, and giving the ear a new curved shape with absorbable or non-absorbable sutures. Making a personalized operation planning will give the best results

Post Operation

The patient can stand up a few hours after the operation. There may be some swelling in the ears for the first few days, there is no severe pain and it is controlled with painkillers. Ears are bandaged to protect ear tissue and facilitate healing. Two days after the surgery, this dressing is removed and a protective hair band is worn for about 3 to 4 weeks, allowing the ear to maintain its shape until it heals. In this way, there is no harm in patients lying on their ears, they can also take a shower. Since absorbable sutures are used, there is no need to take stitches after the surgery. In this process, antibiotic creams are applied to the outer surface of the ear. During the controls, these areas are cleaned if necessary by looking at the stitches behind the ear