Earlobe Repair

Patients frequently request earlobe surgery, either because they would like the shape changed, the size reduced or following injury where the earlobe has been split.

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Additionally, recent trends in ear piercings have resulted in excessively stretched earlobes with large central holes.

All these problems can be corrected using plastic surgery techniques involving well-hidden scars. Surgery usually takes about an hour and is performed under local anaesthetic as a day-case procedure.

Your earlobe repair journey

The Procedure

Possible Complications

Other Information

The Procedure

Sutures

Dissolvable sutures are used internally and fine non-dissolvable sutures externally. These will require removal at about a week following surgery.

Dressings

Post-surgery

Scar management

After 3 weeks, wounds have generally healed. You are advised to gently massage the scars as tolerated as this helps to soften, flatten and desensitise them. You may use any lotion of your choosing, such as E45 or bio-oil. 5 minutes morning and evening for about a year. Make this part of your ‘routine’. Secondly, scars tan faster than normal skin. Therefore avoid exposing the scars to the sun, but if you have to, then apply factor 50 sun block daily, for a year. It takes about a year for a scar to fully mature and caring for your scars in this manner will ensure optimal healing. In some cases, I may advise using silicone gel (such as Kelocote), to be smeared onto the scar daily for a year.

Possible Complications

Bleeding and haematoma

This is rare and precautions are taken during surgery to minimise the risk of this. However, in the rare instance that significant bleeding occurs, this will require a return to theatre and stop the bleeding.

Infection

Scar

How it heals depends on your body’s ability to heal scars. The scars will be red for a few weeks before becoming pale over the course of the first year. In a small number of patients, the scar may become thick and lumpy (hypertrophic or keloid scar) and this is a result of your body’s healing process. For reasons not completely understood, the ears are a particular site for keloid scarring; however the risk is less than 2%. If keloid scars do develop, they are very difficult to treat, and may require long term treatment with compression garments, steroid injections and in extreme cases, surgery to debulk it.

Asymmetry

Other Information

The outcome of all cosmetic surgery is highly subjective. Whilst your surgeon will try to give you a realistic expectation, the satisfaction which you feel about your result depends on many things.

Most people are delighted with their outcome. If there are elements of your surgery which fall short of what you had hoped for, you MUST feel free to discuss them with me, as the majority of issues are easily resolved.