Repair of Gauged Ear Gallery

A professional in his mid 30’s who has had gauges for many years. He had overly stretched the earlobes and had necrosis of the portion of the earlobe near his cheek. He had cut his earlobes to detach them further from the cheek attachment and them had them sutured with a simple suture and re-gauged. He is now concerned that the appearance of his earlobes might impede his progress as he moves higher into management and would like to have them corrected.
He is shown before and again, 3 months after correction in the office. I was able to use what he had left to reconstruct a normal, aesthetic earlobe.

A woman in her late 20’s who had her earlobes gauged when she was 13. She no longer likes the look and also wanted to correct a droopy appearance of the earlobes. She is shown before and again, 3 months after gauges repair combined with an earlobe lift, when she returned for repiercing in the office.

A woman in her mid 20’s who no longer likes the look of gauges. She has had them out for a few months. She is shown before and again, 4 months after bilateral gauges repair including an earlobe lift. Scars get redder and thicker for 6 weeks and then begin to fade and soften over the next 2 years. Her right ear scar is slightly redder than the left, and may be from sleeping on that side after the repair-I encourage my patients to protect the repair with bandaids while sleeping for the first weeks to avoid excessive stress on the newly repaired earlobes.

A woman in her early 30’s with bilateral gauges who no longer likes the appearance. She shared with me that her mother and fiancé are both thrilled now that she has normal, attractive earlobes after her gauges repair. Her fiancé said this was the only thing that he would have wished to change about her. She is shown before and again, 3 months after gauges repair and again, just after repiercing in the office. Scars are typically at their thickest and reddest at 6 weeks and then fade and improve over the next 2 years. She sleeps on her right side and even though she protected these with bandaids while sleeping for the first 6 weeks, that scar is slightly thicker and redder at this early stage.

A man in his mid 30’s who had gauges in college and the holes never shrunk enough after he removed them. He is changing careers and does not want the stigma of having had gauges. He is shown before and again, 3 months after bilateral repair in the office. Scars will typically continue to fade and improve for 1-2 years. He is already thrilled to have a normal appearance again.

A woman in her late 20’s who had gauges of the ears when she was younger. Despite removing these her earlobes still had a deformed appearance. She was no longer comfortable with the appearance of her ears. She had recently moved to a new area and felt that people were judging her based on the appearance of her gauges, and this no longer represented how she wished to present herself. She is shown before and again, 3 months after gauges repair in the office under local anesthesia. She is thrilled with the new appearance of her ears. Scars will typically fade over the next 2 years. I re-pierced her ears for her in the office and she is thrilled to be able to wear normal earrings.

A man in his later 20’s who has gages of his ears. He has especially overstretched his right ear and has some excess skin behind the earlobe as well. He has been hired for a new job but his employer will not let him work until the gauges are corrected.
He is shown before and again, 3 months after bilateral gauges repair under local anesthesia in the office. Scars typically become thicker and redder for 6 weeks and then fade over the next 2 years. At 3 months he already has an excellent appearance and can expect the redness of the scars to continue to fade with time. He does not plan to have his ears re-pierced.

An RN in her later 20’s with a history of gauges. She no longer liked the look anymore and also did not like the drooping earlobes. She is shown before and again, 3 months after repair in the office. A wedge was marked on each ear by swinging the earlobe back and forth past an imaginary point. This wedge included the enlarged hole from the gauge stretching. This technique corrected the drooping of the earlobe as well as the gauge, restoring her earlobe to a youthful contour. Her ears were re-pierced for her in the office at the 3 month visit.

A man in his later 20’s with gauges of his ears who no longer likes the look. He is shown before and again, 4 months after reconstruction of the earlobes in the office under local anesthesia. Scars are typically at their reddest and thickest at 6 weeks and then begin to soften and fade over the next 18 -24 months. He is thrilled to have a normal earlobe contour again.

A woman in he r early 30’s with gauges. She no longer feels that this fits her image and wanted to have these repaired. She is shown before and again, 3 months after reshaping and repair of her earlobes in the office under local anesthesia. Scars typically are at their thickest and reddest at 6 weeks and then start to fade and improve over the next 2 years. Her scars are typical for the 3 month time after surgery, and will continue to fade. She is thrilled to have normal appearing ear lobes again.