Prominent ears, also called protruding ears, are very common. This deformity is attributed to a genetic disorder of the cartilage in the ear. The best time for ear surgery is when a person is five to six years old in order the prevent teasing and ridicule in school. Ear surgery on adults is of course also possible. With children, surgery is performed under general anaesthesia. With adults, only a sedation is used.

In case of general anaesthesia, hospitalisation of one day is required. When the patient is only sedated, hospital discharge will be admitted after one and a half hour.

Procedure

First of all, the places where the incisions will be made, are marked. Then, the front- and backside of the ear are locally sedated. The sedative also contains adrenaline to minimize blood loss.

First, at the back side of the ear, skin tissue is removed. Then, the cartilage will be cut and the skin on the front side of the ear will be dissected. On the front side, the cartilage will be scratched, making it to curl backwards. After careful staunching of the blood, the wound is closed, using self-absorbing stitches.

Post Treatment

Immediately after surgery, patient’s head is wrapped in a circular head garment, which needs to be worn for one week. After that, the head garment is removed and the patient can take a shower without any problem. After showering, the backside of the ear must be carefully dried. If necessary, use a hairdryer. The stitches will disappear after two weeks. In the first four weeks after the head garment has been removed, patient should be careful when resuming sport activities. During that period, it is advisory to wear a turban during the night to protect the ears.

Need to know more about ear surgery ?