Cleft Earlobe/Earlobe Lift Gallery

A woman in her mid 20’s with a split of each earlobe who likes to wear 2 earrings in each ear. She is shown before and again, 3 months after repair, and again, just after re-piercing her ears in the office. Scars typically get redder and thicker for 6 weeks and then begin to fade and improve over the next 2 years. At 3 months most patients earlobes have settled enough to be re-pierced.

A nurse with a double split of her left ear. She is shown before and again, 3 months after a keystone lift/double cleft repair. Patients of color are more prone to thicker than normal scars but she has healed well. We can expect the scar to continue to fade and improve over the next 2 years. I encourage my patients to protect the incisions from the sun to decrease the change of it becoming darker (“post inflammatory hyperpigmentation)

An engineer in her mid 20’s who is originally from Ethiopia. She has a partial tear of her left earlobe, most likely from sleeping with her earrings in place. She is shown before and again, 7 months after repair. Her scar was still painful and thicker at the 3 month mark and was injected with Kenalog, a type of steroid that can help scars soften. Patients of African and Asian heritage may be at higher risk for hypertrophic scars.

The thickness and tenderness of the scar has resolved now at 7 months and is ready to be re-pierced.

A young woman in her mid-teens with a partial split of both earlobes. She is shown before and again, 2 years after repair in the office.

An RN in her mid 40’s with a triple split of her left earlobe. She has slept with her earrings in place.
She is shown before and again, after a 2 stage repair. The outer two splits were repaired first and then she returned 6 weeks later to have the middle slit repaired. She is now seen 3 months after the second stage and has returned for re-piercing. The repair does not make her earlobe any stronger than before and she can split this again if she continues the same process. She has watched my video on the split earlobe to learn how this has happened and to avoid it from happening again. .

A woman in her early 30’s with a right earlobe which was partially torn when she was younger and has lengthened with time. She does sleep with her earring in place. Her left earlobe is normal. She is shown before and again, 3 months after an earlobe lift/repair. Scars get thicker for 6 weeks and then fade and improve over the next 1 ½ to 2 years. She returns now to have the ear repierced.

A woman in her mid 20’s with a split of her left ear, most likely from sleeping with her earrings in. She is shown before and again, 3 months after left earlobe repair. Scars typically get redder and thicker for 6 weeks and then fade and improve over the next 2 years. At 3 months the repair is typically ready to be re-pierced.

A woman in her late 40’s with drooping of her earlobes and a partial split of her left earlobe. She does sleep with her earrings in place. She is shown before and again, 1 year after bilateral earlobe lift. A wedge is marked by swinging the earlobe back and forth past an imaginary center point. We can typically re-pierce the ears at the 3 month mark, but she was delayed in coming back in due to the pandemic

An RN in her mid-40’s with a triple split of her left earlobe. She does not have issue with her right earlobe and this is most likely from sleeping with her earrings in, as I explain in my video on the split earlobe.
This was repaired in 2 stages. , 6 weeks apart. She is shown 3 months after the second stage as she returns to have her earlobe repierced. I have encouraged her to remove her earrings while sleeping to prevent this from happening again. Good to repair, better to prevent!
Scars will continue to fade and improve over the next 2 years.

A woman in her early 60’s who has a partial tear of her right earlobe and drooping of both earlobes. She is shown before and again, 3 months after a bilateral earlobe lift.