Otoplasty Gallery

A man in his early 40’s who is bothered by prominence of his ears. He has recently changed his hairstyle to shave his head now that his hear is thinning and feels that his ears are even more noticeable. He is shown before and 6 weeks after bilateral otoplasty at the hospital. His antihelical folds were created using the Dingman otoabrader to rasp the anterior perichondrium under the skin and weaken the cartilage to allow it to bend ( as I was taught by Dr. Reed Dingman during my plastic surgery residency at University of Michigan) , along with excision of a crescent of cartilage from the conchal bowl and suturing to bring the ears back. He is thrilled with the improvement and happy to have a normal appearance to his ears.

A man in his mid 30’s who is bothered by bilateral prominence of his ears. He has been bothred since he was younger and has been teased on occasion, especially when his hair is shorter
On examination his right ear protrudes 2.8 cm at the midportion ( normal is 1.6-1.8 cm) and his left ear protrudes 2.6 cm. He has prominence of the conchal bowl and a diminished antehelical fold. He is shown just 6 weeks after bilateral otoplasty. Although the incisions are behind the ear, the cartilage is rasped under the skin to reshape it along the new fold and He has some mild discoloration of the skin on each ear which should continue to improve over the next few months as the healing progresses. He is already thrilled to have a normal appearance to his ears.

A man in his late 20’s who is bothered by a congenital deformity of his right ear. This does not fit completely into the category of Stahl’s ear because he does not have a third crus but has a similar overall outline and is most likely also a developmental deformity of hillock 4. He is shown before and again, 7 weeks after surgical correction in the office under local anesthesia. He is thrilled with the normal contour of his ear after surgery. The scar is placed just inside the helical rim and should continue to fade and improve over the next year or longer.

A man in his early 40’s who is bothered by prominent ears. He reports being teased when he was younger and being called “Elephant” and other names. He is finally at a point where he can take care of his ears. He is shown before and again, just 6 weeks after bilateral otoplasty. The cartilage was reshaped by a combination of rasping with a Dingman otoabrader ( designed by one of my professors at the University of Michigan, Dr. Reed DIngman) along with excision of excess conchal cartilage and sutures to reshape the ear. He is thrilled to have a normal appearance to his ears. There is still some mild redness from the healing process which should continue to fade with time.

A woman in her early 40’s who is bothered by prominence of her ears, left more than the right. She is shown before and again, 3 months after bilateral otoplasty.

Update: At one year, the ears have maintained their shape and have a beautiful, natural appearance.

A young man in his pre -teens who is bothered by prominent ears. He is teased at school. His parents wanted to insure that his ears did not look unnatural or “pulled or pinned back” after surgery. Examination of his ear before surgery showed poor definition of the antihelical fold and hypertrophy (excess projection) of the conchal bowl. He is shown before and again, 6 months after bilateral otoplasty. During his surgery I formed a new antihelical fold with the Dingman oto-abrader ( Dr. Reed DIngman was one of my professors at the University of Michigan during my Plastic Surgery Residency and was a world expert on Otoplasty) and Mustarde sutures. In a case such as this where the conchal bowl is severely hypertrophic ( more than 2.5 cm) then it cannot be corrected well with sutures alone, and it is better to excise a crescent of cartilage to help pull the ear back. This was done in his case through an anterior incision just inside the rim.
He and his family are pleased that he has a normal appearance after surgery. The ears are in the proper position and no “pinned back”. And the projection in the mid ear has been reduced from 39 mm on his right to 19 mm and from 36 mm on his left to 18 mm.

A man in his late 50’s who has always been bothered by prominent ears. He has worn his hair long to hide them. He is shown before and again, 6 weeks after bilateral otoplasty. He is thrilled with looking normal, and is now comfortable wearing his hair short.

A young women in her mid-teens who is has been teased at school because of her prominent ears. She is shown before and again, a year after surgery. She loves her new ears. She always hid them before with her hair, but reports that she only wears her hair up now.

A woman in her mid 20’s with a drooping and stretched earlobe piercing. She has a second piercing which she wanted to keep. She is shown 3 months after correction with an earlobe lift and again, just after re-piercing in the office.