Plastic Surgery - Otoplasty for Children

For most kids that may have larger ears or ears that stick out, they will likely just have to deal with the embarrassment of being called Dumbo and other names. Maybe their parents taped their ears back when they were young in hope that it would make the ears lie flatter. Whatever the case, it can be a difficult time for a child to put up with the teasing and harassing when there is nothing they can do about their problem.

Doing plastic surgery on children is highly unusual unless a child has a serious deformity. Otoplasty is a surgical procedure that has become popular for children even more than for adults. It is for those children that have the embarrassing protruding ears or worse. Adults can still have the procedure, but perhaps more adults have just adapted to the problem by the time they are adults.

An Otoplasty plastic surgery is actually more beneficial to the psychological side of a child rather than the physical. They do go together in some ways. If a child is suffering mentally and emotionally because of teasing, they can also display physical problems. If you have a child that is having trouble dealing with this problem, then you would be wise to look into Otoplasty. Although it is a cosmetic surgery in nature, there may be some argument for having your insurance cover it because of the psychological problems it might be causing in your child.

It is important for you to know that having this plastic surgery will make repairs of the ear that have to do with hearing, very difficult. So if you think your child has a hearing issue, then it would be wise to have that addressed before having the other issue considered. This is especially the case with the microtia correction. This is a correction of the outer ear when there is no ear or only a small part of the ear there.

There are a few different types of Otoplasty that can be done to correct the ears. Microtia is one that is mentioned above. Another type is a set back or pin back Otoplasty. This one is for those with ears that especially stick out. Other reasons for doing this kind of plastic surgery is for those who have had cancer, were involved in accidents, or were born with deformities.

Although you as a parent may have dealt with teasing the whole time you grew up, and perhaps you even made yourself sick sometimes because of your embarrassment. That is no reason to make your child go through the same problem if there is a solution. Before mentioning it to your child, look into the cost as well as what your insurance says about it. If it is something you can afford, then it will be a wonderful gift that you can give to your child.

Some children may act tough to their parents, but they may be very bothered by their ears. It is important to really talk to your children about everything going on in their lives so that if something like this is bothering them, hopefully you will see it and be able to help them through it.