Before & After Pictures of Earlobe Repair
The trend of ear gauging involves stretching an ear piercing to accommodate a large plug or cylinder, sometimes a half inch or wider. Ear gauging involves piercing the ear and then stretching the small hole to expand the hole to the desired size. In the hole, wood or metal plugs are placed. Usually the trend is worn by young men in their late teens or early twenties.
As individuals get older, however many individuals who wear plugs or cylinders grow tired of the trend, find their potential employers are distracted by their appearance of their ears, or find that they impact their appearance in a negative manner. Unfortunately when the ear plugs are no longer worn, the earlobe is often extremely stretched out and disfigured. Holes more than 6 millimeters in diameter will often not shrink after ear plugs or cylinders are removed. Repair of the lobe requires reconstruction by a board-certified plastic surgeon in order to return the earlobe to its normal state.
The surgery to repair a stretched or torn earlobe can often be performed under local anesthesia. A board-certified plastic surgeon can work with the earlobe tissue to reconstruct the shape of the lobe. Unlike in a ripped or torn earlobe repair, ear gauging creates a hole where normal tissue should reside. Reconstruction of the hole requires rearranging of tissue to close the hole.
A common question often asked is why the skin can’t just be sutured shut. The answer is that if you try to close the hole by just bringing the skin together, the earlobe will look distorted and overly narrow. Therefore, a reconstruction of the earlobe should be carefully planned and executed by a board-certified plastic surgeon so the hole is reconstructed to return the lobe to its normal state. Dr. Scott Farber is a board-certified plastic surgeon with vast experience in cosmetic ear reconstruction.
For those of you in South Florida, cosmetic surgeon Dr. Scott Farber is available for a consultation at his Boca Raton plastic surgery center. Call (561) 503-2700 or click here to schedule an appointment.