What are the Different Types of Ear Surgery?

Clinic Hunter

What are the Different Types of Ear Surgery?

There are many different types of ear surgery such as:

• ear correction
• ear reconstruction surgery
• ear pinning
• ear reduction surgery
• ear augmentation
• ear reshaping surgery.

Sometimes it is the earlobe which is a problem. Typical procedures for the earlobe are: an earlobe repair, often a torn earlobe, often solved with the use of sutures or an earlobe reduction where the size of the earlobe is too big in relation to the size of the ear. An earlobe reduction is usually done under local anaesthetic and involves cutting away some of the soft tissue from the earlobe.

Prominent ears or stick out ears are most commonly caused due to a missing fold in the ear cartilage. Ear fold surgery is a simple procedure taking about 30 minutes for both ears, which creates this fold and resolves this problem.

Other types of ear surgery, like ear reconstruction, are a little more complicated. This may be required for ears that have been badly damaged or are deformed. Some of the conditions that can be rectified with this type of surgery are:

• Cat’s ear – where the outer edges of the ear fold forward away from the side of the head
• Cauliflower ear – an ear misshapen, usually due to repeated trauma (often associated with boxers)
• Cryptotia ear – a birth defect where the ear is ‘buried’ in the head
• Darwinian ear – where the cartilage rim of the ear is flat and does not fold inwards
• Lop ear – where the top of the ear folds down
• Macrotia and microtia – terms used when the ears are too big or too small
• Stahl’s ear deformity – the creates a pointed elfin-like ear

Some of the above may be birth defects, others may be the result of an injury or trauma. In addition malignant melanoma or, indeed, many other types of skin cancer may create problems if they appear around the ear area.