Ear Reshaping (Otoplasty)

Who does it?
Plastic Surgeon
Face Surgeon

AKA Ear Reshaping, Ear Pinning, Pinnaplasty

What is it?
Otoplasty, better known as ear reshaping is cosmetic surgery of the ear. This can involve reshaping or resizing the outer ear, or pinning protruding ears closer to the head.

Too big, misshapen or very protruding ears can have a massive impact on someone’s self confidence, and otoplasty – particularly pinnaplasty, where the ears are pinned back – is unusual among cosmetic surgery procedures in that it is frequently performed on children, sometimes even before they reach school age, to try and forestall any playground bullying, which can destroy self-confidence.

Who is suitable for Ear Reshaping?
As mentioned above, there is no lower age limit on otoplasty, as it’s not something that is likely to self-correct over time.

It can also be used to improve the appearance of ears damaged by trauma – such as the infamous ‘cauliflower ear’ commonly suffered by boxers and rugby players – or congenital defects, such as ‘cagot ear’, where people are born with no earlobes.

You would need to have a full consultation with a surgeon, however, to determine whether the procedure is necessary and will produce the desired results.

What’s Ear Reshaping like?
If your problem is protruding ears, the surgeon will make an incision behind the ear, then reshape the cartilage and skin, removing any excess.

The cartilage will then be pinned back and held with permanent stitches. This takes up to three hours and is usually done under local anaesthetic, so you will be awake throughout.

To reduce the size of the ear, the cuts are made in the folds of the ear, so that they can be easily hidden, a crescent shaped piece of tissue is removed from the over-sized area, and the ear is re-shaped.

Otoplasty can also be used to increase the size of ears deemed too small, however this is a more complex and invasive operation involving the grafting of cartilage from elsewhere on the body. If you are interested in this procedure, it is probably best to discuss this in detail with your surgeon.

What happens after Ear Reshaping?
You will need to wear bandages around your head for a week, until any removable stitches are taken out, and results should then be immediately noticeable, although there may well be some swelling and bruising.

Your surgeon will also give you advice about washing and drying your hair – it is usually advisable to avoid getting the hair dryer too close to the ear.

You will need to avoid contact sports for at least three months post surgery.

Will I have a scar after Ear Reshaping?
There is a small amount of scarring from otoplasty, but the scars tend to be both very small and hidden in the creases of the ear, so are not noticeable to the casual observer.

What is the cost of Ear Reshaping?
The cost for ear reshaping is from £2,000 - £4,000