Earlobe plastic surgery: types of correction

• What is an earlobe
• What do patients ask for?
• Correction of earlobes with fillers
• Preparing for surgery
• Anesthesia
• Operation
• Postoperative period
• Contraindications
• Possible complications
• Video

Earlobe correction surgery is performed to eliminate congenital defects or acquired deformities of the lower third of the auricle. It can be performed as an independent procedure or, if necessary, as part of otoplasty.

Outer ear

What do patients ask for?

Earlobe rupture

• Torn earlobe

With such a defect, women turn to plastic surgeons because the earring was pulled strongly or it got caught on something, which is why the rupture occurred.

Some women, due to shock or fear of surgery, do not turn to specialists, hoping that the lobe will heal on its own. However, in this case, there is a very high risk that it will heal, but will not heal or will heal unsightly with a visible scar.

• Too big holes in the earlobes

Hole in the ear after the tunnel

Women who, due to frequent and prolonged wearing of heavy earrings, have developed large holes in their ears, turn to specialists for help. Those who once succumbed to the fashion for tunnels in the ears (so-called “punches”) also face the need to eliminate large holes.

The natural desire of such patients is to reduce (remove) these holes and have the opportunity to pierce their ears again in the future.

• Droopy earlobes

Adult women are most susceptible to this defect, because with age the subcutaneous fatty tissue of the earlobes decreases, they become thinner and become less full. Due to sagging and loss of elasticity, the lobes sag (ptosis is observed), and wrinkles form.

• Asymmetry of the earlobes
• Consequences of a facelift

They can occur after a facelift, when the surgeon removes excess skin. As a result, the lobes are pulled towards the ears, and the face takes on a completely inharmonious appearance.

• Absence or insufficiency of the lobe
• Desire to change the shape, size or volume of the lobes
• Presence of rough scars in this area
• Elimination of protruding lobes

Correction of earlobes with fillers

Correction methods

In terms of time, earlobe reconstruction can take from 20 minutes to 1-2 hours. It all depends on the volume and complexity of the work, as well as the skill of the surgeon himself.

In most cases, a laser scalpel is used instead of a conventional scalpel. It allows capillaries to be sealed during surgery to avoid severe bleeding, and also to make very even cuts, which significantly speeds up healing.

Suturing the tear

Most often, this operation is performed in the first hours after injury. The rupture bleeds heavily, so patients usually do not delay a visit to the hospital. This is great because a fresh wound will heal much faster, especially if it has smooth edges.

The surgeon carefully treats the lobe with an antiseptic, numbs the working area and closes the tear with neat cosmetic stitches. The sutures are removed within 4-5 days, but complete healing occurs in about a month. The entire procedure rarely takes more than 15-20 minutes.

Repair after tunnels

It can last quite a long time, especially if their diameter is 3 centimeters or more. In this case, simply suturing the lobe is not enough. The skin is overstretched and often very thin. Sometimes you have to excise its excess, and then actually form a new lobe from the remnants.

In the first days, patients often complain of loss of sensitivity. This is normal, since it takes some time to restore capillary circulation and damaged nerve endings. Complete rehabilitation will require from 1 to 3-4 months.

Lobe reduction

It is most often performed by simply cutting away excess tissue. Before the operation begins, special markings are made on the ear with a medical marker. Using it, the doctor cuts out a new shape of the lobe, and tightens the edges of the wound with very small cosmetic self-absorbing sutures.

The same manipulations are performed when the lobe is adjusted after wearing heavy earrings for a long time. If necessary, the puncture site may be lightly sutured if it has acquired the shape of an oval or a long slit. In this case, the ear heals very quickly; complete recovery takes up to two weeks.

Elimination of scars and scars

Scar tissue is very dense and the only way to remove it is by excision or laser evaporation. Ablation (evaporation) is considered a non-surgical technique, but it can only cope with minor skin changes. If the scars are too rough and extensive, the surgeon cuts off the keloid tissue and closes the wound by stretching the intact skin of the earlobe over it.

If the remaining skin is not enough, a flap can be used, which is taken from behind the ear or from the inside of the shoulder. When transplanting, there is always a small risk of implant rejection, even if it is the patient's own tissue.

The wound requires very careful care, strict adherence to sterility and the use of antibacterial drugs.

Preparing for surgery

The preparation is simple. First, the patient visits the doctor for a visual examination. The specialist necessarily studies the patient’s medical history, draws up a general picture of his health and prescribes the necessary tests and examinations (blood tests, ECG, etc.). If no contraindications are identified, the day of surgery is set.

Your doctor should tell you what you should not do before and after surgery. General requirement: two weeks before plastic surgery, you need to stop drinking alcohol and smoking.

Contraindications

No matter how simple ear surgery is, it also has its contraindications. Surgical correction is not performed if:

• blood clotting disorders;
• fungal and skin infections on the ears;
• any active inflammatory processes;
• exacerbation of chronic ENT diseases;
• systemic infections in the body;
• oncology and autoimmune diseases;
• tendency to form scars;
• serious endocrine disorders;
• cardiovascular failure.

Women do not undergo surgery during pregnancy, breastfeeding or menstruation. Weakened immunity significantly increases the healing period, so it is better to restore it in advance.

Operation

Result of sagging lobe plastic surgery

The surgical technique depends on what defect of the lobe needs to be eliminated:

• sagging (lengthening). The surgeon makes an incision on its inner side, through which the fatty tissue is redistributed. He then excises excess skin;
• gap Restoration involves suturing the edges of the defect using interrupted sutures. The same technique is also used for congenital cleft lobes using, if necessary, additional plastic material. Micro-resurfacing of the skin is used to correct scars;
• protrusion. The surgeon removes part of it, excises the skin behind the ear and displaces the cartilage at the bottom of the auricle;

Lobe immediately after surgery

• complete absence. The plastic surgeon recreates it using tissue in the area of ​​the auricle in the form of flaps on a feeding pedicle. In some cases, they resort to a free transplant of a graft, which is taken from the lobe of a healthy ear;
• too small or large size, asymmetry, etc. To surgically correct such congenital problems, excess tissue is excised and the size and volume are adjusted;
• a rough scar on it. It is first excised and then sutured using a special atraumatic material. This does not lead to the formation of new scars; for the best aesthetic result, laser resurfacing can be prescribed.

Once the surgery is complete and cosmetic stitches have been applied, the surgeon will cover the patient's earlobe with a small bandage to avoid complications.

Operations on the earlobe

Surgical operations on the earlobe are most often performed for cosmetic purposes for correction. There may be several reasons for carrying out such an operation or, in medical terms, indications:

• Deformation as a result of wearing earrings that are too heavy for the earlobe tissue;

Since the earlobe does not even consist of cartilage, like most of the auricle, but of skin and fatty tissue, it tends to stretch relatively easily, and the natural elasticity of tissues has a limit, especially in adulthood.

• Deformation when wearing earrings - “tunnels” that stretch the pierced hole due to its relatively large diameter;

Fashion for jewelry is changeable, and holes after “tunnels” heal much more slowly than from ordinary earrings, or do not heal at all.

• Age-related deformation in combination with wearing earrings.

Fat fiber tends to become looser and less elastic over the years. This, by the way, is the reason for age-related changes in facial contours.

• Congenital deformation of the shape of the lobe: large size, sometimes even bifurcated.
• Tissue rupture as a result of mechanical damage. The most common reason for visiting a surgeon is to protect a hole in the earlobe.

If you have suffered an injury to your earlobe, the first step is to remove the earring so that the edges of the wound have a chance to heal. Small tears heal on their own and after 2 months you can put on earrings. If you leave the earring, a tunnel will naturally form, which will not heal on its own.

• Rough, noticeable, sometimes itchy scars from punctures or other injuries.

It should be understood that simply cutting off the protruding scar in this case is completely insufficient - a new scar will simply appear in this place, and the goal will not be achieved.

When may earlobe suturing be necessary?

• You wore tunnels and decided to heal them, returning your ear to as natural a shape as possible.
• While stretching the tunnels, the lobe broke, you want to restore it and pull it further.
• Heavy earrings weighed down your ears.

Many people decide to sew up the earlobe after they get caught in an earring: even with a slight tug, you can tear the tissue.

How is lobe reconstruction performed?

1. You take off the jewelry and turn to the master.
2. The master collects anamnesis, finds out if there are any allergies to medications, and talks about how the procedure will go.
3. On the day of surgery, you should not drink alcohol or energy drinks or take blood thinners.
4. You come for the procedure, the master administers local anesthesia and begins the reconstruction process - sewing up the ear.
5. Be prepared that in the case of tunnels, some of the skin will have to be removed so that the lobe looks as natural as possible after suturing.

After reconstruction, you follow the specialist’s recommendations and treat your ear regularly.

Deformation after tunnels: is there an alternative to surgery?

One of the most pressing issues concerns the inevitability of reconstructive surgery after wearing tunnels. Patients are interested in whether it is possible to correct the earlobe without surgery; can “holes after tunnels” heal on their own?

Plastic surgeons give a universal answer to this question: if the diameter of the hole is no more than 1 centimeter, you can expect that over time it will become smaller, but will not completely close. If the diameter of the hole is more than a centimeter, you need to have surgery or put up with a noticeable cosmetic defect for the rest of your life.

How long does it take for an ear to heal after a tunnel?

The first reactions - discharge of ichor, swelling, pain - disappear 1-1.5 weeks after the surgical correction procedure. At the same time, the specialist will invite you to remove the stitches. But the appearance of the lobe at this stage will be far from ideal: the surface is uneven, the skin is red, the scars stand out in color and density. Don't worry, this is not the final result. After 3-6 months, the lobe will lighten, the scars will smooth out, and it will be possible to notice that there are small marks on the skin only upon very close examination. However, such a scenario is possible with strict adherence to the rules of skin care after reconstruction.

• The wound must be treated regularly in the manner recommended by the specialist.
• You should not allow the ear to come into constant contact with clothing, hair, or hats, as this will slow down healing.
• You cannot re-pierce your ears or put on tunnels until the regeneration process is complete.

How the correction is carried out

If a woman is not satisfied with the shape of her earlobes, she can go to a clinic, where a specialist will conduct an examination, collect anamnesis and select the optimal remedy for correction. Typically, preparations containing hyaluronic acid and other necessary components are used for this. They are dense gels that can fill areas under the skin and correct the contour of the earlobes.

The substances also have a rejuvenating effect. They effectively smooth out wrinkles, making the skin softer, more elastic and attractive.

During the procedure itself, the following algorithm of actions is performed:

1. Applying marks to the areas where the drug must be injected.
2. Antiseptic treatment of the urine and local anesthesia.
3. Administration of the drug - usually one or two injections are performed depending on the complexity of the intervention.

After this, the specialist uses massage movements to give the earlobes the required shape. The client can see the effect immediately after this, but the final result will be visible after 2 weeks. At this time, it is worth visiting a specialist again and, if necessary, making corrections.

Indications for the procedure

Earlobe plastic surgery with fillers is effective in the following cases:

• skin aging due to a natural decrease in the production of collagen and elastin, excessive tanning;
• sagging of the earlobes due to prolonged wearing of heavy earrings, stretching of the puncture site;
• scars and scars after ear injury;
• congenital asymmetry and shape defects (flat lobe, disproportionate size).

Ear correction with fillers is practically painless and gives excellent results in one procedure. Gels replenish the missing volume, create a beautiful shape, smooth and plump the skin, and slow down aging.

Possible complications

Earlobe plastic surgery can cause complications, which the doctor must familiarize the patient with. These include the formation of scars, which can occur both due to the careless work of the surgeon, and due to the individual reaction of the patient’s body. Infection during surgery is a consequence of poor-quality services provided and is usually cured by taking antibiotics. More serious complications may result from the patient having contraindications to surgery that he hid or that the doctor did not identify. Any operation has a small percentage of unexpected reactions of the body. It is necessary to follow all the doctor’s recommendations and come regularly for examination or dressing changes.