Reshaping a Prominent Ear

Having prominent ears can be a psychological nightmare for some people, especially school age children. While prominent ears are a natural variant, sometime they can be referred to as dumbo ears after Disney’s animated elephant. This can lead to a stigma which can be difficult for children to overcome. Fortunately, there are several options for people with prominent ears to help correct them.

To determine what procedure is appropriate to help patients with prominent ears, it is first necessary to determine if the patient has excess ear cartilage or if the ear is not formed completely. The most common problem with prominent ears is a lack of the antihelical fold. This causes the outside edge of the ear to be unfolded and stick out farther from the head than it should. In other cases, there is more cartilage in the conchal bowl pushing the ear farther from the head than it should ideally be.

Otoplasty procedures, or ear pinning procedures, are aimed at cosmetically reshaping the ear. Once the problem is determined, surgery can be aimed at either correcting the excess cartilage or reshaping the antihelical fold to produce an ear which is closer to the skull. For patient with conchal cartilage excess, remove of the cartilage with sutures to hold the ear closer to the head are needed. For patients who have a lack of the antihelical fold, permanent sutures are needed to recreate the fold and supply a more natural appearing ear. If a certain patients with a lack of an antihelical fold, and if the problem is noticed just after birth, special molds can sometimes be used to refold the ear and prevent the need for future surgery.

Otoplasty is just like any other surgery- there are risks. Fortunately the risks are minimal and include infection, bleeding, and cartilage death causing a misshapen ear. In cases where permanent sutures are used to recreate the ear shape, there is the possibility of these sutures coming out at some point in the patient’s lifetime and needing to be replaced.

Visiting with a qualified and experienced surgeon is the first step on the journey towards any surgical procedure. The surgeon can sit with you and discuss your goals, advise what the best surgery may be, and discuss all of the risks and rewards of surgery.