What is Otoplasty (Ear Surgery)?
Ear surgery, also known as otoplasty, can improve the shape, position or proportion of your ears for an improved cosmetic appearance. Dr. Schwartz is a facial surgery expert who you can turn to with confidence to achieve the otoplasty results you desire. Otoplasty can help to correct a defect in the ear structure that may have been present at birth, or an aesthetic concern that becomes more cosmetically apparent with development and maturity. Ear surgery with Dr. Schwartz can also be used to treat misshapen ears cosmetically damaged by injury.
If protruding or disfigured ears bother you or your child, you may consider plastic surgery. Ear surgery with Dr. Schwartz creates a much more natural shape, while restoring balance and better proportion to the ears and face. Even the correction of minor deformities and irregularities can have truly profound benefits to your appearance and self-esteem.
What is the Otoplasty procedure?
For the correction of protruding ears, Dr. Schwartz uses surgical techniques that are designed to create or increase the antihelical fold (just inside the rim of the ear) and to reduce enlarged conchal cartilage (the largest and deepest concavity of the external ear). Incisions for otoplasty are made on the back surface of the ear. Internal, permanent sutures are used to create and secure the newly shaped cartilage in place and external sutures are used to close the incision.
Dr. Schwartz’s approach to ear surgery is personalized and individualized to each patient’s unique needs. He takes particular care not to distort other structures and in particular to avoid an unnatural “pinned back” appearance. Dr. Schwartz has revised a large number of unsuccessful otoplasty cases with great success. Otoplasty or ear surgery with Dr. Schwartz offers near immediate results in the case of protruding ears, with results that will be visible once the dressings that support the new shape of the ears is removed a few days following the surgery.
What is the recovery from Otoplasty?
Otoplasty is not painful. You may experience an itchy feeling under your bandages but it is essential that your bandages remain intact and are not removed for any reason. Dr. Schwartz will provide you with specific and detailed instructions to guide you through the recovery and healing process.
Who is a candidate for Otoplasty (Ear Surgery)?
Children are often teased or self-conscious about prominent ears. Teenagers and adults who are good candidates for ear surgery are patients with a positive outlook, a healthy physical condition and specific goals in mind for their ear surgery.
Ear surgery with Dr. Schwartz can be the right choice no matter what the age of the patient. Dr. Schwartz is particularly sensitive and compassionate with patients of all ages who want to improve the appearance of their ears. Children who are good candidates for otoplasty are generally six years old or older as the ears are nearly adult size at six years of age.
Otoplasty is a highly individualized procedure and you should do it for yourself, not to fulfill someone else’s desires or to try to fit any sort of ideal image.
What is the Cost of Otoplasty in Pasadena, CA?
The cost of your otoplasty with Dr. Schwartz will vary from patient to patient, and is personalized to you and your needs depending on your unique problem areas and the complexity of the treatment. As with most elective cosmetic procedures, insurance carriers do not typically cover otoplasty, but Dr. Schwartz’s office makes the procedure affordable by offering easy financing through Alphaeon Credit, Prosper® Healthcare Lending and CareCredit® in additon to accepting payments in the form of cash, personal checks and credit cards.
If you live in or around Los Angeles, Pasadena or the surrounding communities of California, please contact board-certified facial plastic surgeon Michael Schwartz, M.D., a diplomate of the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery to find out if an otoplasty is right for you.
