Are your ears starting to sag or look deflated? Just like in other parts of your body, gravity always wins! (At least temporarily.) At some point, your earlobes may start to lose their firmness and elasticity and appear droopy and/or deflated. If you are not happy with how they look, you may want to consider a form of otoplasty in order to shorten and/or inflate your earlobes.
Are your ears starting to sag or look deflated? Just like in other parts of your body, gravity always wins! (At least temporarily.) At some point, your earlobes may start to lose their firmness and elasticity and appear droopy and/or deflated. If you are not happy with how they look, you may want to consider a form of otoplasty in order to shorten and/or inflate your earlobes.
One common, and often overlooked, sign of aging is the elongation of the earlobes. While some people just have long earlobes, to begin with, others develop this condition with age and/or from wearing heavy earrings. There are a variety of techniques to reshape the earlobe but unless this procedure is combined with another (just as facelifting), shortening of the earlobes is performed in the office under local anesthesia. The plastic surgeon will first make some measurements and then draw the intended procedure with a marking pen, before injecting local anesthesia. Depending on the technique used and if the ear piercings also have to be removed, earlobe shortening takes between 30-60 minutes.
Inflating Earlobes
In addition to elongation, the aging process can cause your earlobes to deflate. The best treatment for this condition is the injection of fat from another part of your body. Some patients have both earlobe shortening and re-inflation by fat grafting, and others require just one or the other.
Re-piercing Deflated Saggy Earlobes
Obviously, shortening and/or fat grafting of the earlobes have to take into consideration any piercings that the patient has or wants to keep. Elongation of the earlobes and of the piercings is a little unpredictable; some patients say they have a long history of wearing heavy earrings. Others insist that they have only worn studs. When the lobule is shortened, the patient’s current piercing or piercings may be too low and too near the bottom edge of the earlobe. In these cases, the piercings must be excised and closed at the same time. Depending on the location of the desired new piercing, this can be performed at the same time or delayed several weeks.
Post-operative Care
Very little post-op care is required. You may want to protect the suture line with a BandAid so you don’t catch your earlobe on clothing but for the most part, you can go about normal like activities. The sutures are removed after about a week.
Rejuvenation of the earlobes is an important component of rejuvenation of the whole face so patients frequently combine earlobe recontouring with facelifting or other procedures for the aging face. Other patients develop changes in their ears that they consider unsightly, long before the rest of the face has aged.
Do not let your saggy earlobes spoil your appearance! Should you need to correct the undesirable appearance of your outer ear, schedule an appointment with Dr. Charles Thorne. He has a special interest in otoplasty. With 30 years of experience in the otoplasty field, he has been an expert in ear reconstruction for both children and adults. You can discuss your questions and concerns with Dr. Thorne, he is more than willing to assist you.
Dr. Thorne is the Editor-in-Chief and the author of several chapters in Grabb and Smith's PLASTIC SURGERY, 7th Edition.
Ear Construction Chapter in PDF
