Otoplasty - Is It The Right Choice?

Otoplasty is a cosmetic surgical procedure that is done to change the appearance of a person’s external ears. For anyone who feels their ears are too big, too small, or stick out too much, this is probably the type of surgical intervention you dreamed about as a child but may not have even realized was possible. otoplasty is probably one of the least complicated plastic surgeries of all of the different types of cosmetic surgeries available and has the best rates for low complications after surgery.

otoplasty can include a wide variety of procedures from reducing ears that are too large, bringing ears in that are too far away from the skull (pinning the ears), enlarging ears that are too small, and repairing birth defects or defects from an accident.

Surgery is available for both adults and children. Most surgeons prefer children be at least four years old so their ears are fully formed and shaped before they undertake a cosmetic repair. Children are put under general anesthesia for surgery while adult patients can choose between general or local anesthesia.

Children who undergo cosmetic surgery are generally being targeted by bullying and teasing due to their ears, and parents have reported that surgery raises their children’s self esteem and stops further social withdrawal while they are young enough to rebuild social skills.

Depending on what procedure is performed on the ears the surgery takes anywhere from two to five hours, and immediately afterwards the patient’s head is wrapped in heavy bandages to protect the ears and help with healing. After a week or so the bandages are replaced with lighter bandages and then are removed. During the recovery time patients will experience some swelling and bruising that is natural with any surgery and may have some throbbing achy pain on their ears that is controlled with pain medication.

After the bandages are removed patients are still required to sleep with a headband type bandage on to protect their ears and aid in the healing process. Extreme heat and cold can cause ear numbness, so activities such as using a blow dryer must be avoided until the healing process is complete.

The cost for otoplasty will depend on a variety of factors including your location, the procedure you choose, how complex your surgery is and your doctor, but costs are usually around two to five thousand dollars not including the cost for pre and post op care.

Like most cosmetic surgeries this is done on an out patient basis although some patients, including children, may have to spend the night at the hospital for recovery, which will of course increase your total cost.