Plastic surgery is a booming business in the United States, as
medical science gradually allows more and more individuals to reshape their
outward appearance. One of the surgeries with the most drastic immediate
improvement of personal appearance is otoplasty, the surgical reshaping of the
external ear to correct birth defects, trauma, other deformities, or just
personal cosmetic needs.
What is Otoplasty Surgery?
An otoplasty surgery is a plastic surgery technique where the surgeon reshapes and augments the pinna, or the external ear. The surgery first became popularized in the late 1960s when surgeons first became able to replace the cartilage of the ear with both biological and synthetic analogues. Ear shaping has since been refined, and it is grouped into three categories depending on the severity of the physical change required or wanted by the patient.
What is Otoplasty Surgery?
An otoplasty surgery is a plastic surgery technique where the surgeon reshapes and augments the pinna, or the external ear. The surgery first became popularized in the late 1960s when surgeons first became able to replace the cartilage of the ear with both biological and synthetic analogues. Ear shaping has since been refined, and it is grouped into three categories depending on the severity of the physical change required or wanted by the patient.
- Group
I - Surgeons leave most of the original cartilage in the original ear,
instead using sutures to cause ear reshaping over time.
- Group
2 - Surgeons use an ear reshaping surgery that removes most of the excess
cartilage on the pinna, leaving the ear more pliable and easier to
reshape.
- Group
3 - Combines ear reshaping techniques from groups 1 and 2 in order to
reduce the size of the ear.
Is Otoplasty Safe?
Ear reshaping surgery is very safe, and it is routinely performed in plastic surgery centers all across the United States. The recovery prognosis is high for most patients, and most end up with aesthetically pleasing ears that are indistinguishable from their non-reconstructed counterparts. In some cases the surgery can be performed with only local anesthetic, and the patients are able to go home the same day. Dr. Rane, a plastic surgeon licensed in Liberal,Kansas, has a great track record of safe and responsible surgeries for her patients.
Conditions Requiring Otoplasty
The vast majority of patients who undergo this surgical procedure do so because their ears were misshapen due to a congenital defect, or they are just simply uncomfortable with how their ears look and they want to change them. Some of these defects, such as cleft earlobe and Cryptotia, can be corrected early in a child's development so they can grow up with normal looking ears. In other cases, patients see their plastic surgeon to correct damage done to their ears during trauma of some kind. Cauliflower ear, a condition faced by wrestlers due to repeated injury to the external ear, generally requires ear reshaping after the hematoma is drained. For the less traumatic patients, a cosmetic need is just a personal want someone may have. Maybe they think their ears are uneven, or are too big, ear reshaping is a simple surgical fix to this. Dr. Mona Ranein Liberal, KS can help answer any patient’s questions about otoplasty. Giveher a call today!
