Otoplasty Ear Pinning Surgery

Written by: Angie Buonassisi

Reviewed By: Dr. Buonassisi

Otoplasty – Cosmetic Ear Pinning Surgery

Otoplasty, or cosmetic ear pinning surgery, is a plastic surgery procedure to change the appearance of a person’s ears. Otoplasty can achieve a number of different objectives, including repositioning the ears closer to the head, reducing the size of large ears, or reshaping bends in the cartilage.

How Otoplasty is Performed

There are several reasons why ears may appear to be positioned too far from the head. A part of the ear anatomy known as the “anti-helical fold’ determines how close the ear rests to the head. In some cases, the anti-helical fold is underdeveloped, which causes the ears to stick out. In other cases, there may be an excess amount of cartilage in the area where the ear connects to the head, pushing the ear forward and outward. Board Certified facial plastic surgeon Dr. Buonassisi helps people considering otoplasty by creating or enhancing the anti-helical fold. He makes a small incision behind the ear, then draws the ear closer to the head. He may also need to remove excess cartilage during the procedure. His goal is to create a lasting and natural improvement to the ear appearance. During an ear surgery procedure, Dr. Buonassisi makes an incision behind the ear to trim away excess skin and cartilage. He uses carefully placed stitches to create folds and make small adjustments to give the ear a more natural appearance. The surgical incisions are small and the scars are almost imperceptible once fully healed. The procedure itself takes about two hours to perform.

Otoplasty Recovery

Most people describe the recovery from Otoplasty surgery to be quite easy. It is normal to experience some discolouration and swelling around the ears. You will wear a head band around the ears for the first two weeks. You can resume most normal activities except for strenuous exercise almost immediately after the procedure, but some patients are self-conscious about the surgical dressing and wait to go out in public until this is removed.

Time Off Work After Otoplasty Surgery

• If you are self-conscious of wearing a dressing to work, you should take one week off work
• If you work in a physical environment, it is important that you don’t sustain trauma to your ears during the healing period

Back to Normal Activities After Otoplasty Surgery

• You can resume normal activities, such as light household work and taking a gentle stroll, the day after surgery
• You can resume light fitness activities, such as jogging or yoga, two days after surgery
• You can resume vigorous fitness activities, such heavy weight training or high impact cardio, one week after surgery
• You should avoid bending over and lifting heavy objects for two weeks after surgery