Thank you for your question.
You submitted two photos and you’re asking a question about the possibility of having
earlobe reduction in light of having undergone otoplasty 15 years ago with an earlobe reduction
at that time.
And you state that you feel that one ear is still a little bit pointier and different
sized compared to the other the other ear.
So you want to know if it’s possible to have an earlobe reduction to accomplish this.
Well, I can certainly give you my guidance as to how I approach patients like yourself
in my practice.
A little bit of background, I’m a Board-certified cosmetic surgeon and Fellowship-trained oculofacial
plastic and reconstructive surgeon.
I have been in practice in Manhattan and Long Island for over 20 years.
Otoplasty as well as earlobe procedures are pretty common in our practice.
And this type of question comes up in a variety of ways whether it’s isolated or in light
of a face lifting procedure for example.
So to begin with, just to go over the original principles of otoplasty which has some relevance
with this question in terms of the earlobe, basically we look at the ear in thirds.
We look at the relationship of the upper, middle and lower third and look at the relative
prominence of the earlobe.
And what I would want to ask you and of course, this is in the absence of a physical exam,
is do you feel that the pointiness of the earlobe makes it look that much longer.
And a lot of times, people, as everyone gets older, their earlobes start to thin out a
little bit.
And when they thin out, they become a little bit floppier and thinner and maybe slightly
longer in appearance.
But interestingly, volume correction in the earlobe such as use of fillers can actually
improve the volume of the earlobe.
Now that being said, as far as the basic premise of your question, can additional earlobe surgery
be performed in light of previous earlobe surgery?
The answer is yes.
You can undergo some type of earlobe reduction and there are a variety of ways and there
are different approaches.
And essentially the goal is basically to create a contour that looks natural and also is consistent
with the symmetry with the other ear.
But also, I would suggest to you to look at the relative potential benefit of this procedure.
You know, one of the things that I help my patients understand every day in our practice
is to understand that the human body in the face is naturally asymmetric.
And so when you think of allocation of time and resources and you look at a situation
like your earlobes, you may want to ask yourself is this an issue when it comes to wearing
jewelry, is this an issue in terms of the appearance when you look straight into the
mirror or is this an area that you are focused on because this is an area that particularly
is of concern to you.
A lot of times, our patients, I help them try to reframe how they look at themselves
when they’re concerned about a single area.
It’s a psychological reality that we look at ourselves very critically and certain areas
that really concern us start to get amplified or magnified.
Now this is part of a normal consultation discussion.
The procedure itself is typically performed under local anesthesia.
And after the patient has agreed to what the ultimate goal is and the design is drawn,
it’s done under local anesthesia and it takes not that long to perform it, depends
on the degree and extent of the procedure.
So meet with qualified, experienced cosmetic surgeons and see what your options are.
Again, look at the ideas again of not just reduction but also about volume correction
and sometimes, you can do both certainly.
If the earlobe is thin and long and then you actually reduce it and create a nice shape,
you may find that a little bit of volume also makes the earlobe really nice.
So I hope that was helpful, I wish you the best of luck and thank you for your question.