Cleft Earlobe/Earlobe Lift Gallery

An Rn in her early 50’s who has had one prior repair of her left earlobe 10 years ago by another plastic surgeon. She is bothered by drooping of both earlobes and a partial cleft or split of her left earlobe. She does sleep with her earrings in and this is probably the cause of her recurrent split. She is shown before and again, 3 months after a bilateral earlobe lift. With a lift, the earlobe is swung back and forth past an imaginary midline point to mark a precise wedge. When this is excised it removes the excess earlobe and “lifts” it. She feels that she “ has the earlobes of a 20 year old now”.

A woman in her early 50’s with a partial cleft of her left ear, which she has had for many years. This prevents her from wearing earrings because “they hang funny”. She does have a history of sleeping with her earrings in, which is the probable cause. She is shown before and again, 3 months after repair of her earlobe under local anesthesia in the office. Scars typically become redder and thicker for 6 weeks after surgery and then begin to soften and fade over the next 2 years. At 3 months, her earlobe is ready to be repierced in the office.

A woman in her early 50’s with a complete cleft of her left earlobe and a partial cleft of her right earlobe. She has had right earlobe repair in the past by another plastic surgeon.
She does sleep with her earrings in place, and this is most likely the cause. She is shown before and again, 3 months after repair in the office under local anesthesia.

A 25 yo graduate student with a partial split of her left earlobe, which keeps her from wearing earrings. She thinks this is from sleeping with her earrings in. She is shown before and again, 3 months after repair. Scars are redder and thicker for 6 weeks and then begin to fade and improve over the next 1-2 years.

A nurse in her later 60s with a complete split of her left ear for a few years. She has a complicated medical history including a kidney transplant and a gastric bypass, as well as diabetes. The transplant medications, diabetes and history of a gastric bypass can all interfere with normal healing.
She is shown before and again, 3 months after a repair in the office. Thankfully she did not have any healing issues and has an excellent contour of her earlobe after surgery. She is now able to wear her earring in the formerly second hole, and did not require repiercing.

A man of color in his late 20’s who was bothered by a partial cleft of his left ear that may have happened from sleeping with his earrings in at night. He is shown before and again, 3 months after repair in the office. Scars typically become thicker for 6 weeks and then fade and improve over the next 2 years. At 3 months his scar is starting to soften and fade and his ear is ready to be re-pierced if desired.

A man in his early 50’s who has always been bothered with prominent/ floppy/hypertrophic ear lobes. He has been teased when he was younger.
He is shown before and again, 3 months after bilateral earlobe lift/reduction. We have had him using the topical silicone since 6 weeks after surgery. Surgical scars typically get thicker and redder for 6 weeks and then begin to soften and improve over the next 2 years.
At 3 months, his scars are softer and better in appearance than usual at this time point, and he is thrilled to have normal ear lobes.

A woman in her early 60’s with a double partial cleft of her right ear and a partial cleft of her left hear. She also has drooping of her ear lobes. She was marked for an ear lobe lift by swinging the earlobe back and forth past an imaginary central point. The wedge was carefully placed to include the two clefts of her right ear. In this way the ear lobe clefts were corrected as well as the drooping of the earlobe to restore a normal appearance to the ear. She is shown before surgery and again, 3 months after surgery, just after having her earlobes repierced in the office.

A woman in her early 30’s with a partial cleft of her right ear. After discussions in the office she does sleep with her earrings in and this may be the side that she sleeps on. Her left ear is normal. My theory is that sleeping with the earring in allows the post to move back and forth across the pillow, slowing cutting through the earlobe like a wire cutting through a cheese. She is shown before and again, 3 months after repair, just after re-piercing this in the office.