Posts Tagged ‘earlobe reconstruction’
Sunday, October 30th, 2011
Q: Dr. Eppley, I have earlobes that go straight down. They don’t have the curve up, just a straight down line to the side of my face making my ears look big when they are actually very normal. Can you fix this without scarring?
A: What you have is a natural earlobe that attaches to your face without a break or upward curve. This lack of a well-defined earlobe attachment is known as a pixie earlobe. Pixie earlobes are usually thought of as an aesthetic complication of a facelift but they are also a natural earlobe shape for many people. Because of the downward and otherwise low attachment of the earlobe to the face, it does make the ear look longer. While there is a relatively simple solution to changing how the earlobe attaches to the face, it can not be done without some scarring. The earlobe can be released and reattached higher through a procedure known as a V-Y advancement. This will move the earlobe up almost a full centimeter and give it an upward curve to its attachment. This will result in a very fine line scar in the wake of where the earlobe attachment used to be. While it is a scar, it is a very fine line. This simple earlobe reconstruction can be done in the office under local anesthesia.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana
Tags: dr barry eppley, earlobe reconstruction, earlobe shortening, indianapolis
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Wednesday, August 31st, 2011
Q: Dr. Eppley, I had a facelift several years ago that I am very happy with the results in the neck and jowls. However, it has resulted in my earlobes being pulled down which I believe is called a pixie ear deformity. I have spoken to the surgeon who did the facelift, and he has attempted to fix the ears by putting a suture behind the ear and pulling them up. At least that is what it felt and looked like. The ears came right back down. I understand that another way to correct them may leave a scar on my lateral face where they were attached and at this point I’m not to excited about that. Other than performing a facelift revision, is there another way to fix the ears that is not to extreme?
A: While the simplest and most effective way to correct the pixie ear deformity is a V-Y advancement, that will leave a fine line vertical scar in its wake as you have pointed out. It actually is very small, and one’s concern may be slightly overblown about it, but it is a scar nonetheless. The second best way is to advance the preauricular skin flap up slightly so the face skin can craddle under the earlobe after its release. This is also effective and uses the existing scars inside the ear up into the hairline. You might call this a revision of a facelift, albeit a minor one, but moving the pulled down skin up is the only way to truly correct the earlobe tethering. Just trying to ‘tuck’ the earlobe from behind will never work as it needs skin redistribution in an upward direction.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana
Tags: dr barry eppley, earlobe reconstruction, facelift revision, indianapolis, pixie ear deformity
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Wednesday, August 31st, 2011
Q: Dr. Eppley, my earlobe tore as a teen and it went on to heal on its own. While it did heal, it has left me with thick earlobes. The split closed up but it left me with an abnormally long lobe that makes me very self conscience. I would love to get it corrected.
A: All earlobe tears will heal on their own and one would normally be left with a crease or groove along the healed tear line. Otherwise the earlobe will not be significantly distorted. Occasionally, when an earlobe tear heals on its own it will develop thick scar tissue which may also make the earlobe look longer. Both issues can be solved through a procedure that is very similar to an earlobe reduction operation. The scar tissue and the surrounding elongated central earlobe tissues are removed and the earlobe is closed back together. This makes the earlobe vertically shorter and much softer. This earlobe reconstruction is an office procedure done under local anesthesia. The sutures are removed in one week. The earlobe can be re-pierced 8 weeks after the procedure.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana
Tags: dr barry eppley, earlobe reconstruction, indianapolis, torn earlobe repair
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Saturday, June 18th, 2011
Q: Dear Dr. Eppley, I was looking at your web page description of ear lobe surgery and it made me feel hopeful. I recieved an infection/cut in my ear several years ago. Despite minor irritation, I continued to wear light earrings but the ear plug kept lowering and lowering until today. Today my earlobe has split entirely. I would like to have further information on whether and how this can be fixed. What should I do with in the interim to heap it heal?
A: Once the tissue begins to thin in the outer earlobhe skin from a piercing or a larger insert, eventually the skin will break down and a complete earlobe tear will occur. This is not uncommon and it is an easy problem to fix. It is a simple earlobe reconstruction done in the office under local anesthesia. The earlobe can be completely restored to normal size and shape, albeit with a fine line scar. The cost for this procedure is about $425. Once can re-pierce their ear 6 weeks after the procedure. (but gauging can never be done again)
In the interim you may apply antibiotic ointment until the skin edges heal in a few weeks. You may tape it together for appearance reasons during the daytime although this is not essential. Taping it together will help it heal a little faster.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis Indiana
Tags: dr barry eppley, earlobe reconstruction, indianapolis, repair of torn earlobe
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Friday, June 10th, 2011
Q: I have a keloid on both sides of my right earlobe and it was at the back before I’ve tried operation back in 2008. Last year I went back to the hospital and they told me they would have to cut my whole earlobe off and that’s when I asked them to discharge me. I now want to know if it could be fixed?
A: Keloids of the earlobe are common problems for certain ethnic groups as a reaction or problem from ear ring wear. I have seen it in both men and women and they come in all sizes. They usually do involve both sides of the earlobe eventually since they are the result of a piercing. When ear keloids become very large, it does appear that the earlobe would need to be completely amputated to get rid of it. In actuality this is not true. A keloid acts very much like a gauged earlobe. There is a central keloid expansion, as opposed to a metal gauge, and the earlobe around it expands and thins. This means there is always earlobe tissue to use that can reconstruct a new earlobe. It may be smaller than one’s original earlobe but an earlobe can always be made. The best approach is a modified wedge excision, tapering the outer aspect of the wedge down to preserve as much earlobe tissue as possible. This usually leaves more than enought tissue for earlobe reconstruction. It is also important to not leave behind any keloid tissue in the resection and to do some type recurrence prevention therapy with the surgery, whether it be serial steroid injections or immediate low dose radiation.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis Indiana
Tags: dr barry eppley, earlobe keloid surgery, earlobe reconstruction, indianapolis
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Thursday, August 26th, 2010
Q : We have a potential new hire for our company that has about a ¾ inch insert gauged in both ears. This person regrets having this done and wants to abide by company requirements and have them removed. How is this done and what does the earlobe look like afterwards. Also, what would the potential cost be to have both earlobes repaired?
A: Gauging of the earlobes creates a central hole surrounded by a thinned out or thin ring of earlobe skin. The size of the gauge determines how thin the ring of earlobe skin is. As long as the gauge is not too big (greater than one inch), the expanded earlobe can be put back together and have about the same size as it was before having the insert. When the insert becomes much bigger, it not only stretches out the earlobe but the tissue becomes much thinner as well. (pressure atrophy) When put back together, the final size of the earlobe will likely be smaller than before.
Earlobe reconstruction is done by cutting out the skin along the central hole, including some of the rim, and putting it back together in the shape of a more normal earlobe.
Like the split earlobe deformity, reconstruction of the gauged earlobe can be done under local anesthesia. This can usually be done in the office which saves a lot of expense when the cost of an operating room and anesthesia is not used. The typical cost of such earlobe surgery is in the range of $750 to $1,000 per ear.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana
Tags: dr barry eppley, earlobe reconstruction, gauged earlobe repair, indianapolis, plastic surgery
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