Otoplasty, is a cosmetic surgery to change the appearance of a person's external ears. Otoplasty can take many forms, such as bringing the ears closer to the head (often called ear pinning), reducing the size of very big ears, or reshaping various bends in the cartilage. Other reconstructive procedures deal with the deformed, or abscent-microtic ears. Otoplasty surgery can involve a combination of moving, reshaping, adding, or removing structural ear elements.
The pinna, or external ear, is made of a thin structural cartilage covered over with thin skin. Each of the various folds and structures of the pinna is named. Ear deformity results from distorted, damaged, or missing ear elements. Many otoplasties are performed not because of actual deformity, but because the individual is displeased with the shape of their ears.
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Anesthetic options depend on the problem to be treated and ability of the patient to cooperate and can include local anesthesia alone, local anesthesia with sedation. The procedure can take from an hour and a half to five hours depending on the problem.
Incising one side of a flat cartilage piece leaves unopposed elastic forces on the other side and permits the shape to evolve over time. Thus, incising one side of the lop-ear cartilage along the new anti-helical fold may be one element of the surgery. This can be done through a small incision, or without an incision: an "Incisionless Otoplasty," where a needle is placed through the skin to model the cartilage and also to place the retention sutures.
Internal sutures often are permanent. The wound(s) are then closed with either dissolvable sutures or ones that are removed by a doctor after the wounds have healed. A bulky ear dressing protects the ear after surgery.