Ear Aesthetics(Prominent Ear Surgery)

There are three anatomical deformities that lead to the appearance of prominent ears:

The ear fold (antihelix) not having developed

The concha (the bowl of the ear) being deep

The ear standing away from the head

Each of these three deformities may be of different severity in each patient. Treatment is aimed at correcting these deformities.

Prominent ears are seen in approximately 5% of children. It is genetically transmitted, and the likelihood of it occurring is higher in those whose mother or father has prominent ears. It is seen much more frequently in people of Celtic origin and in the Japanese. It does not discriminate between the sexes, but since girls can hide it with their hair, it affects boys more.

If the child or family is very bothered by the appearance, if the child is being teased by friends, and if this teasing affects the child's psychological state, surgery should be performed. Although some children say they are not affected, their social relationships deteriorate and their school performance falls. Girls avoid tying their hair back, while boys begin to grow their hair long. Sometimes they may start to use inappropriate accessories such as hairbands and beanies. Sometimes they may try to fix their ears to the scalp from behind with very strong adhesives. In such situations, the decision to operate is taken together with the parents and, if deemed necessary, a psychologist.

In the first 3 months after birth, ear cartilage is very soft and is easily shaped. Moulding and taping applied during this period can reduce or correct the prominent ear appearance. However, after 3 months this application is of no benefit.

When the child reaches three years of age, the ear reaches 85% of its adult size. The ideal age for prominent ear surgery is between 4 and 6 years. It used to be recommended that the operation be performed before starting primary school so that children's psychological state is not affected. In our country, too, because preschool education has become more common and the age at which children mix with their peers has fallen, we now also want to perform the operation as early as possible, at 4-5 years of age. However, in our country many families, because of their protective attitudes, cannot bear to put their children through it and do not have the operation done. For this reason, the number of older children and adults who have prominent ear surgery is not small either. However, performing the operation at an early age both prevents the child from being psychologically hurt and allows the soft cartilage to be shaped more easily.

There are many methods. In the method I use, an incision is made behind the ear, the front side of the ear cartilage is weakened by scoring it with a special instrument, a fold is created with sutures, and with the help of sutures the ear is stitched to the head and set back.

The advantages of this method are that the scar remains behind the ear, the cartilage is not cut, no skin is removed from behind the ear, swelling is very minimal and the results are permanent.

As in all operations, in prominent ear surgery it is necessary to stop aspirin and smoking 3 weeks before the operation. (if the patient is in the adult age group and has these habits) In the last 1 week it is necessary to stay away from medicines and similar substances that may thin the blood.

Things that should not be used:

Painkillers such as Apranax, Voltaren, Vermidon (when a painkiller is needed, Minoset, Novalgin can be used),

Multivitamin pills containing substances such as ginseng, ginkgo biloba, coenzyme Q,

Herbal products such as green tea, flaxseed, cherry stalk, tomato seed

All slimming products

Child patients are operated on under general anaesthesia. In older children and adults, the procedure is carried out in an operating theatre setting, under general anaesthesia or deep sedation.

The surgical procedure takes between 45 minutes and 1 hour.

Because of the anaesthetics given, patients do not feel pain for 12 hours after the operation. After that there is no serious pain either. Patients are bothered most by the pressure of the bandage.

After the operation an elastic bandage is wrapped around the head. Patients are generally sent home the same day. One day later the bandage is removed, the wounds are checked and the patient puts on a tennis headband that covers the ears. From the second day onwards patients can shower. The tennis headband should be worn regularly for a week. At the end of the week, the tennis headband is worn at home and at night for 3 weeks. For the first 3 weeks the ears need to be protected from blows and pulling.

Problems that may be encountered in the early period are bleeding and wound dehiscence (opening of the sutures). The risk of bleeding can be minimised with meticulous surgery and application of a postoperative bandage. Problems that may be encountered in the late period include the ears protruding again, asymmetries, irregularities, deformities and the sutures becoming palpable.

Some re-protrusion of the ears can be expected after the operation. This risk is lower in children. But if a proper method is used and a bandage is used for a sufficient period after the operation, this risk will be minimised.