Otoplasty
Otoplasty Related Terms:
Plastic Surgery, Cosmetic Surgery, Ear Pinning, Ear Pinning, Ear Surgery, Ear Surgery, Face Procedures, Pinnaplasty Ear Surgery, Surgeon
Otoplasty - What Is It?
Otoplasty is performed by a qualified plastic surgeon with special experience in ear pinning plastic surgery. Otia is the term for ear and hence the plastic surgery of the ear is known as otoplasty. Persons with big ears undergo otoplasty to improve their facial appearance. The adult patient is administered a local anesthetic, while children are usually given general anesthetic to get them to sleep. The skin around the ear is cleaned and the anesthetic is injected, numbing the ears. Then small incisions are made in the ear for exposing and repositioning the cartilage. Then stitches are applied to hold the ear in the modified position. A pinnaplasty ear surgery normally takes an hour or two. The patient could leave the hospital after a few hours. However, it might take one or two weeks for the removal of the bandage covering the ears.
Otoplasty - How Is It Done?
Otoplasty is normally done by a plastic surgeon but all oral and maxillofacial surgeons are qualified to conduct this face procedure or ear surgery, since they are trained in the surgery of the craniomaxillofacial complex. This complex is the entire anatomical area of the face, mouth, skull, jaws, and other associated structures in the head.
Children with microtic ears or absent-microtic ears would require highly delicate surgical reconstruction. It is estimated that congenital microtia occurs in one out of 6,000 to 8,000 births. This could cause severe embarrassment in children. However, this condition could be easily corrected by a plastic surgeon who is an expert in otoplasty. The surgeon might use the chest cartilage as the donor tissue for constructing the framework of the normal ear. Normally, the children with microtic ears could undergo this ear surgery at the age of five. However, the otologic surgeon should keep the child under observation from the birth itself to ensure that the hearing of the child is not impaired due to microtia and to take corrective measures, if that happens.