If you have ears that lie back against the side of the head normally, you probably never even give them a thought. But if you’re a kid and you have ears that project outward, then get ready for the teasing.
Disney is remaking Dumbo. Make sure it’s not your child who gets tagged with the name — have Dr. Beaty perform minor ear surgery to bring the ears closer to the head…and curtail any name calling before it ever gets started.
The surgery
For children, the surgery is recommended between the ages of 6 and 14, as the ears are usually fully developed by age 6 or 7. Plus, doing this surgery before your child gets to middle school is highly advisable to curtail any taunting.
Dr. Beaty usually makes the incisions behind the ears. From those incisions, he removes a small amount of cartilage. With that cartilage removed, the remaining cartilage is sutured into place, pulling the ears closer to the head. Because the incisions are made behind the ears, they are virtually invisible. However, in other cases, incisions may need to be made on the front of the ears, particularly in re-shaping surgeries. If this is necessary, Dr. Beaty tries to hide the incisions in the natural folds and creases of the ears.
Who can have otoplasty
While Dr. Beaty usually performs this surgery on children, it isn’t a difficult surgery for adults, either. If you should have had your ears pinned as a child but didn’t, the surgery is still available as an adult. Other people have natural ear defects and opt for reconstructive ear surgery. Some of these congenital ear defects include cat’s ear, cagot ear, scroll ear, cleft earlobe, lop ear, microtia, macrotia, or a constricted ear. Overly large or heavy earrings can also cause the earlobes to be stretched, which can be easily repaired. So can torn earlobes where earrings were caught on something and ripped out through the earlobe.
Leave the ear jokes to Dumbo and theaters this spring. If your child has protruding ears, call Dr. Beaty at (770) 753-0053 to schedule a consultation.
