Can My Ears Be Pinned Back And My Earlobes Reduced In Size During The Same Surgery?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I would like to get my ears reshaped. I think they are too big at the earlobes and they stick out a bit. My earlobes seem too big for a younger male and I have always been self-conscious about how my ears stick out. Can my ears be pinned back and the earlobes reduced in size at the same surgery? I haved attached some pictures of me from the front so you can see what I mean. It is hard to look at anything else but my ears in these pictures!

A: Thank you for sending your pictures. I can see your concerns about earlobe reduction and a little bit of ear pinning. The combination of the two would solve those concerns and make your ears blend in naturally along the side of your head. Ears should blend into the side of the face and not be a dominant facial feature. The ear can be put back a little further by adjustment of the concha through mastoid sutures from an incision on the backside on the backside of the ear. The earlobe can be reduced by half its current size. The only question there is scar location. There are three different methods of earlobe reduction with changing locations of the scar. Regardless of how earlobe reduction is done, it can be combined with ear pinning (otoplasty) at the same time and are fairly easy to undergo. There is really no significant recovery other than some slight external ear swelling.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana