Ear Aesthetics (Otoplasty)

Ear Aesthetic Surgery

The ear is one of the few areas that a person cannot prevent from seeing. Sometimes, we can hide our ears with long hair, but this is only temporary. A person may feel uncomfortable with the shape and angle of their ears, sometimes being significantly embarrassed by this and negatively affecting their self-confidence. For this reason, ear aesthetics is among the aesthetic applications that are becoming increasingly popular all over the world.

What is Ear Aesthetics? What Does It Do?

Ear aesthetics is called “Otoplasty” in the medical world. Plastic surgery operations performed to improve the shape, size, position or ratio of the ears. While providing a balance and proportion between the ear and the face, it helps to create a more natural shape.

With ear aesthetics, a congenital defect in the ear structure or deformities due to blows to the ears can be corrected, or it can be preferred in the treatment of dissatisfaction due to previous ear aesthetics. Correcting even minor deformities in the ears can help increase the patient's self-confidence. Ear aesthetics can also be performed in children between the ages of 4 and 14.

Who Can Have Ear Aesthetics?

• Children whose ear cartilage needs to be corrected,
• Healthy individuals who do not have a life-threatening illness or health condition that could impair recovery.
• People with prominent ears,
• Those with abnormally large ears
• Those with ear protrusions

Preparation for Ear Aesthetics

Depending on the ear deformity that requires you to have aesthetic surgery and how complex the ear surgery is, the surgery takes 2-3 hours on average. If the procedure you need is very complex, the surgery may take over three hours.

• If you are an adult, your doctor will probably prefer to perform the procedure under local anesthetic.
• General anesthesia can be given for ear surgeries in pediatric patients.
• People receiving general anesthesia cannot eat or drink anything the night before surgery.
• The last meal eaten the night before the surgery must be light.

Post-Surgery Recovery Process

After the surgery, your head will be bandaged before you are sent home. In order for you to get through the healing process without any problems, it is very important that you follow the instructions given by your doctor regarding the duration of the bandage. After the surgery, it is important to rest and sleep by keeping your head slightly elevated. It may be necessary to apply ice intermittently. After the surgery, you must stay at home for at least one week. Children should not go to school for at least a week. All kinds of excessive exertion and contact sports are prohibited for 1-3 weeks.

The bandage should stay on your head for at least three days. Once the bandage is removed, your doctor will give you a dressing. To ensure proper healing, the dressing may need to be left on for three weeks. Also, if you have stitches that need to be removed, the stitches will be removed about a week after surgery. You may need to use a tennis bandage for at least a month to maintain the shape of the ear. Sometimes this period can be extended to 1-3 months.

What You Should Know About Ear Aesthetics

• After plastic surgery, a small scar will remain behind both ears in the fold between the ear and the head,
• There may be slight bruising around the ears,
• There may be pain, numbness, or tingling sensation in the ears, but such symptoms disappear over time.
• After the surgery, ear cartilage inflammation, clot formation in the ear skin or if the surgery is not successful, asymmetry in the ears can be seen.
• In addition, excessive bleeding and infection may occur in the area where the incision was made.
• Your doctor should inform you about how likely these risks and complications are and how to treat them if they occur.