Cleft Earlobe/Earlobe Lift Gallery

An RN in her early 50’s with a partial split of her left earlobe and drooping of both earlobes She is shown before and again 14 months after earlobe lift and repair.

A woman of color in her mid 30’s with a double split of her left ear. She does sleep on her left side and has slept with her earrings in. She is shown before and again, 4 ½ months after repair in the office. A double split can be especially challenging. If the skin bridge in between is very narrow and the earlobe is drooping, then a wedge excision can lift the ear and remove both splits. When the skin bridge is wider, as in this case, a wedge would have distorted the shape of the earlobe. It was wide enough to allow both slits to be repaired at the same time. If the skin bridge had been narrower, then the repair would need to be done in 2 stages to better preserve the blood supply.

She is thrilled to have a normal earlobe and to be able to wear her earrings again. I have recommended that she not sleep with earrings in ( see my video on the split earlobe). It is especially important for patients of color to avoid sun exposure to the repair for the first year to decrease the risk of “post inflammatory hyper-pigmentation’, a darkening of the scar that can occur with sun exposure while it is still pink from the healing process.

A woman in her early 30’s with a complete tear of her left earlobe for the prior 3 years. She is not sure how this happened but does sleep with her earrings in place. She may also have allergies to stainless steel and inflammation of the earlobes with costume jewelry.

She is shown before and again, 7 months after cleft earlobe repair in the office. I have recommended that she watch my video on the “split earlobe” to learn how to avoid having this tear again.

A 17 yo woman with a complete cleft of her left ear who may have had a nickel allergy. She does sleep with earrings in place. I cover common causes of earlobe splitting in my video.
She is shown before and again, 3 months after earlobe repair in the office. Scars get redder and thicker for 6 weeks and then start to soften and fade over the next year or more. At 3 months there is still some redness which will continue to improve but the scars are typically mature enough for the earlobe to be re-pierced.

A Hispanic woman in her mid 40’s with a complete split of her right earlobe for the past 10 years. . She does sleep on this side. She is eager to be able to wear her earrings again. She is shown before and again, 3 months after cleft earlobe repair. She is shown again, just after re-piercing in the office. She is thrilled to be able to wear her earrings again! It is important for patients who tan easily to avoid sun exposure to the incision for the first year until the pink has completely faded to prevent possible darkening of the scar, called “post inflammatory hyperpigmentation”

A singer in her late 20’s who has a partial cleft of both earlobes but is also bothered by a droopy appearance to the earlobes which she attributes to wearing heavy earrings.
She is shown before and again, 3 months after a bilateral earlobe lift/cleft earlobe repair. I review what makes an earlobe attractive in my video on the beautiful earlobe.

A woman in her early 60’s who is bothered by drooping of the earlobes as well as partial splitting of the earlobes. She is shown before and again, 6 months after repair. She has decided to use her original 2 nd piercings as her primary hole for now.

A Hispanic man in his early 30’s who is bothered by splitting of his earlobes. He does sleep with his earrings in. He is shown before and again, 9 months after bilateral cleft repair. He was careful to avoid sun exposure to prevent darkening of the scars that is more common in people that tan easily ( “ post inflammatory hyperpigmentation” ) and his incisions have healed beautifully. I have recommended that he get in the habit of removing his earrings while sleeping to prevent this from happening again. I have a video on the causes of the split earlobe that goes into more detail.

A nurse in her later 60’s who has a partial tear of her left earlobe for the second time. She has had this repaired elsewhere 10 years before. She does sleep with her earrings in place. She is shown before and again 3 months after repair of the partial cleft. Scars typically become thicker and redder for 6 weeks and then soften and fade over the next year or more. I have recommended that she start to take the earrings out while sleeping to prevent this from happening again. The causes of a split earlobe are reviewed in my video.

A woman in her late 80’s who is bothered by stretching of her left earlobe hole that allows her earrings to fall out. She does sleep with her earrings in place. She is shown before and again, 3 months after correction of the partial cleft along with an earlobe lift. Scars are at their thickest at 6 weeks and then typically soften and fade over the following year or more. At 3 months her scar still has some mild redness and thickness that can be expected to fade with time.

Update: Our patient is now seen nearly 5 months after repair with a smaller earring in place. The scar has continued to fade and soften.