If you want to have your ears moved back and closer to your head or you want to shrink the size of your ears, then cosmetic ear surgery or otoplasty may be the procedure that you want. This surgery is normally done on children between the ages of 4-14. Your ears almost fully grown by 4, the younger a person is when they have ear surgery, the less likely they will be teased and ridicule for their problematic ears. Even if you are an adult, you can still have ear surgery and there are generally no additional risks associated with ear surgery on an older patient.
Depending on the age, general anesthesia may be recommended, but a local anesthesia, combined with a sedative can be used as well. Ear surgery usually takes about two to three hours, although complicated procedures may take longer.
Your surgeon will make a small incision in the back of the ear to expose the ear cartilage. He or she will then sculpt the cartilage and bend it back toward the head. Non-removable stitches may be used to help maintain the new shape. Occasionally, a surgeon will remove a larger piece of cartilage to provide a more natural-looking fold when the surgery is complete. Another technique involves a similar incision in the back of the ear. Skin is removed and stitches are used to fold the cartilage back on itself to reshape the ear without removing cartilage.
