Taken off ears

This intervention aims at correcting two frequently associated malformations in the event of taken off ears:

• hypertrophy cartilage (the conch) which projects and the pavillon of the ear “takes off”.
• defect of and absence of relief of a cartilage (the ) which the pavillon of the ear and makes more visible the “taken off” ear.

Very frequently these alformations are associated but they can obviously be separate:

• simple hypertrophy of the cartilage with a drawing and a normal of the .
• defect of of the drawing of the , without hypertrophy of the cartilage
  

In one and the other case, these malformations is corrected by an adapted processing.
This operation is practiced as well in the child, the adult man or woman. In general, at the young boy, it is towards six to eight years that this operation is carried out, when it starts to have some reflections unpleasant to the school. The age is in general later for the girl, who, because of her long hair, can hide the taken off ears. The intervention can be carried out at the adulthood.

The first consultation is fundamental because it makes it possible to determine the motivations well and to lay down precise objectives.

The medical history and surgical is referred to (allergies and medicamentous capture…). A hereditary concept is specified.

The analysis of the face thus makes it possible to define the surgical possibilities as well as possible and to specify the precise problem to correct.

A detailed explanation is given to the patient and the consultation contains the capture of photographs, useful for the operational evaluation.

A consultation with the doctor-anesthetist is programmed before the intervention to practice a complete physical exam and to prescribe the complementary examinations necessary.

This consultation makes it possible to refer to the various types of anesthesia and to take all the safety measures necessary.

Which type of anesthesia is practiced?
Generally an local anesthesia is sufficient for this type of operation.
Indeed, the intervention is extremely not very painful and except specific anxiety of the patient, it is this mode of anesthesia which is preferred. In other cases (anxiety) an neurolept-analgesia or thorough local anesthesia can also be realized.

Which is the duration of the intervention?
A surgery of the taken off ears in general lasts 1 hour.

Will there be visible cicatrices?
The incision discrete, is hidden behind the ear and it evolves/moves in general in a satisfactory way.

How is held the intervention?
The purpose of the intervention is to restick the ear and so to also reconstitute the relief of the pavillon. The cartilage is weakened at certain places to obtain the reliefs and the desired forms. The conch “is hidden”, which decreases its projection. The joining is in general carried out with wire .

Which type of bandage will be used?
A circular bandage protecting the ears is set up during five days.

Which is the duration of the hospitalization?
In general, it is about operation of an ambulatory type and the patient who returns the morning can even leave the evening.

In the operational continuations, a momentary pain can exist during one or two days but disappears in general under the negotiable instrument of an antalgic processing.

When the bandage is removed, the ear is tumefied a little bit and red, this aspect disappearing in the eight days which follow the operation.

Like any surgical operation, an otoplasty can have some rare general complications such as: infection hematomas, or an anesthetic complication.

On the esthetic level, it can arrive (rare) that the cicatrice evolves/moves according to a hypertrophic mode and he will then be necessary to prescribe the adapted processing.

A small asymmetry can exist on the level of the form of the ear which can be corrected later on under local anesthesia.

Once the withdrawn bandage, he is advised to carry a protective stringcourse the day (standard stringcourse of tennis or make-up removal) and a more complete bandage the night and this during ten days (scarf).

Specific consultings are given to avoid an involuntary traumatism and the sports practice must be deferred during three weeks.

The correction of the cartilage hypertrophied and the defect of lasts in general with life.

It is not therefore advisable to provide for another intervention of this type.

This simple intervention makes it possible to effectively correct the unaesthetic aspect of the taken off ears, and abolishes so especially in the child, of possible psychological and school problems.