The prominent ears is a deformity of young children who’s ears stick out. Some tolerate this aesthetic problem well, but others are seriously disturbed by it. Girls have chance of hiding it under longer hair, but in boys it’s a lot more difficult. The problem can be unilateral or bilateral.
I did one of these procedures today and I thought it would be good to write about the key parts of the procedure and what needs to be done to obtain predictable results. The operation has been described in detail by many great plastic surgeons and different procedures exist to accomplish the result of setting back the ear and preventing it from protruding. Most frequently there are two anatomic malformations that cause the ears to be prominent. One is the over development of the central ear cartilage called concha. The other is the lack of an adequate fold between that central part and the rest of the ear pavilion.
I believe the operation can be done simply by creating the fold using sutures described by Mustarde and removing the excess cartilage. Both these can be done through an incision behind the ear under local anesthesia. The creation of the fold has been a challenge. The cartilage can break or the fold could be too sharp causing a deformity and look unnatural. In order to avoid these complications I have devised a technique that allows me to control the folding process and make the results more predictable. This is not the place to explain the technical details, but I would be happy to explain all the details during a consultation.
If you or a child in your family suffers from this problem make an appointment for a detailed evaluation and a plan of treatment. By calling 973 2670928.