Questions and answers

• What are the first steps?

  Before meeting with your surgeon, you may want to take the opportunity to discuss your concerns and expectations with one of our specialist nurses. She will give you information about this procedure and discuss what is involved in detail, including post operative care and recovery. She will show you photographs of patients who have had this type of surgery to help you understand what can be achieved.

  During your consultation with an NZIPCS surgeon, he will ask you about your medical history and examine you carefully. He will listen to your concerns and expectations and advise you on the best surgical approach.

  Photographs will be taken before and after your surgery to plan the procedure and to record your results.

• What does the surgery involve?

  An otoplasty is customized according to the problems that are causing ear prominence. If the concha is enlarged, part of the conchal cartilage is resected and the remaining ear cartilage is sutured back to the skull.
  If the antihelical fold needs to be reshaped or refolded, the ear cartilage is weakened by a series of partial releasing incisions of the cartilage itself, allowing the new fold to form.

  The incision is usually designed behind the ear, either in the fold or on the back of the ear itself. Occasionally, additional scars may be necessary on the front of the ear.

  With children, the operation generally requires a general anaesthetic, while teenagers and adults require a local anaesthetic only. Prominent ear correction is usually a day surgical procedure, so an overnight stay in hospital is not necessary.

• What is the recovery process?

  At the end of the procedure a dressing is carefully applied, with the folds and hollows packed with cotton wool to hold the skin closely to the underlying cartilage. This helps reduce the chances of blood collecting. The dressing and head bandage are a very important part of the surgery and are usually left intact for seven to 10 days.

  Local anaesthetic is always added during surgery, so the ears won’t be sore initially. This usually wears off after four to six hours and will be followed by mild pain, which can be eased with medication such as Paracetamol. This discomfort usually settles in approximately 48 hours. After that time, itching under the bandages is common.

  After the dressings have been removed a loose bandage or headband should be worn for the first week to help prevent accidentally ‘flipping’ out the new ear position.

  Your ears will be a little swollen and bruised after the bandages are removed. This swelling can take several weeks to fully settle, and you also will notice that your ears are tender if bumped and that parts of the ear are numb. This will settle over several months and is a normal consequence of the ear setback operation.

  Contact sport should be avoided for six weeks, although non-contact sports can begin in approximately three weeks after surgery.

• How much will it cost?

  Costs vary according to the severity of the condition, the combination of procedures undertaken, the amount of surgical time involved and the facility at which the procedure is carried out. We cannot offer an accurate cost estimate without seeing you. However we do offer complimentary no-obligation nursing consultations as a first step towards helping you understand your options and the approximate costs involved.

  A more accurate costing will be made after the first consultation.

This page provides an overview. More detailed information can be obtained during a consultation with one of our plastic surgeons. Please contact the Institute for a consultation.

Before and after

Ear Pinning Patient - Bilateral Otoplasty (10 yrs)

*Names have been changed for privacy reasons.