Posted on November 16, 2011 in Ear Lobe Reshaping, Ear Pinning, Ear Reshaping, Otoplasty
A question that has come up frequently over the past few months involves whether or not patients can wear eyeglasses or sunglasses after cosmetic ear reshaping, or otoplasty. Our San Diego facial plastic surgery office happens to do a very high volume of otoplasty surgery with probably more experience in cosmetic ear reshaping than most plastic surgeons in Southern California. Over the past few months many of our otoplasty patients have asked about resuming use of their glasses following surgery. The answer is that essentially all otoplasty patients can eventually wear their eyeglasses and sunglasses quite comfortably. The glasses may feel slightly different sitting on your ear following cosmetic ear reshaping, but you should have no significant discomfort or problem. In the first few weeks there certainly may be some pain since the incision line behind the ear does extend up to the top. However, most otoplasty patients can resume normal use of their glasses within 2-3 weeks of the surgery. Hope this helps anyone out there considering ear reshaping surgery in San Diego. To learn more about otoplasty and cosmetic ear surgery in San Diego, CA, use these links here to be taken to some of the most comprehensive online resources dedicated to otoplasty surgery and cosmetic ear reshaping – the San Diego otoplasty procedure page and the San Diego otoplasty primer for potential ear reshaping patients.
Posted on September 12, 2011 in Ear Pinning, Ear Reshaping, Otoplasty
Dr. John Hilinski has extensive experience in ear pinning and otoplasty surgery to help cosmetically improve the appearance of prominent ears. This includes vast knowledge of pediatric ear pinning, or otoplasty for children. This particular patient is a great example of ear pinning in children. He is a young boy who had concerns with prominent ears and desired to have them reshaped to make the ears look smaller and more proportional for his face. Dr. Hilinski performed the ear pinning operation under intravenous sedation, which is sometimes referred to as a twilight anesthetic. This is one aspect of otoplasty in children that is different from ear pinning in the adult population. Young children like this patient require a little more sedation to be kept comfortable during the operation. This is usually simply a matter of controlling their anxiety more than their pain. Intravenous sedation for children undergoing otoplasty surgery is quite common and, in fact, the norm in our practice. This patient had the cosmetic ear reshaping without any issues and tolerated the procedure and anesthesia beautifully. Following surgery he did great with little downtime. To view his full series of photos before and after pediatric ear pinning, please use this link here. To learn more about pediatric otoplasty in San Diego, feel free to browse our otoplasty procedure discussion and/or our online ear pinning tutorial.
Posted on September 9, 2011 in Ear Pinning, Otoplasty
Dr. John Hilinski, board certified facial plastic surgeon, presents another very happy ear pinning, or otoplasty, patient from San Diego, CA. This young male desired to have his ears pinned back because they were overly prominent for his liking. Like many otoplasty patients, his ears were asymmetrically enlarged with his left ear sticking out further than his right. Dr. Hilinski recommended ear pinning under just local anesthesia and an oral sedative pill in our own Hilinski Ambulatory Surgery Center. The procedure took about an hour to complete with minimal discomfort to the patient. Both ears were able to be reshaped from behind, leaving essentially no visible scarring. As you can see from hisbefore and after ear pinning photos shown below, there is an obvious esthetic improvement in the shape and position of his ears. And most importantly, he doesn’t look as if he had cosmetic ear surgery! The patient is extremely happy with the cosmetic ear reshaping results and is no longer preoccupied with the appearance of his ears. To see one of the largest ear pinning, or otoplasty, photo galleries in all of San Diego, use this link here. To learn more about ear pinning and otoplasty surgery visit our online discussion of cosmetic ear surgery and our online patient primer for otoplasty.
Before and After Cosmetic Ear Pinning
Posted on September 7, 2011 in Ear Pinning, Otoplasty
Dr. Hilinski would like to present the short and long-term follow-up results of an ear pinning patient from San Diego, CA. This attractive female patient underwent otoplasty, or ear pinning, surgery to address her overly prominent ears. As you can see, her ears were somewhat different from right to left, which is more the rule than the exception when it comes to otoplasty patients. Dr. Hilinski performed the cosmetic ear reshaping surgery from behind the ears so that any scarring would be minimized in terms of visible appearance. The following is a photo series showing the patient before otoplasty (A), one week following otoplasty (B), 4 weeks after otoplasty (C), and then 5 months after otoplasty (D). The last photo is very indicative of a long-term result following ear pinning surgery. As you can see, her one week post-otoplasty photos show the ears to be over-corrected as would be expected for this stage of the recovery process. As the following 4 weeks unfolded, the ears began to take more of the proper shape and position. And as the 5 month mark came around, you can appreciate that she has a very stable cosmetic otoplasty result. Comparing the before and 5 month after otoplasty photos in particular, you can see that she has a very obvious improvement in the cosmetic appearance of her ears. They are now set in closer to her head and are much more symmetric than before. If you have been considering ear pinning surgery here in San Diego, CA and have wondered what the healing process might be like, this case example gives you a nice visual on what you can possibly expect. Call us today to schedule your complimentary consultation for cosmetic ear pinning surgery.
A
B
C
D
Posted on August 26, 2011 in Ear Pinning, Ear Reshaping, Otoplasty
Dr. John Hilinski, board certified facial plastic surgeon in San Diego, CA, discusses another example of ear pinning (also known as otoplasty or ear reshaping). This female patient from San Diego presented to the office complaining of prominent ears. She was found to have overly developed ears that were asymmetric – meaning one stuck out further than the other. In this case, the patient’s left ear was more prominent than the right. We discussed in detail the possibility of undergoing ear pinning surgery to make her ears smaller in size. The otoplasty surgery was done under local anesthesia in the office setting. The procedure involved making an incision behind the ear so that all scars would be hidden from direct view. The ear cartilage was reduced in size and brought closer to the head. This was able to be done while maintaining a natural look and shape overall. Her before and after ear pinning photos are shown below.
Before and After Ear Pinning
As you can see based on these before and after ear pinning photos, she has an obvious improvement in the shape and size of her ears. The ears are now more appropriately positioned closer to the surface of the head and are clearly less visible as seen on the frontal view. From below, you can also appreciate how the ears were previously more angulated out from the side of the head. Following ear pinning, or otoplasty, the ears are now more properly angulated.
Ear Pinning (Otoplasty) Consultation in San Diego, CA
If you or someone you know has been bothered by the appearance of their overly prominent ears, contact our San Diego, CA office today to schedule your otoplasty (ear pinning) consultation. To see other photos of Dr. John Hilinski’s patients who have undergone ear pinning surgery, use this link here to be taken to the main otoplasty photo gallery.
Posted on May 4, 2011 in Ear Pinning, Ear Reshaping, Otoplasty
I wanted to post a quick blog entry visually demonstrating what otoplasty patients might look like immediately following ear pinning surgery. This young gentleman from San Diego desired reshaping of his ears (ear pinning) to address overly prominent auricles. As you can see from his preoperative otoplasty photos below, his ears stuck out to the side of his head bilaterally. As is the case in most patients undergoing ear pinning, one side stuck out farther than the other side. In this particular ear pinning patient, his left ear was slightly more prominent than his right ear. We recommended a bilateral (both sides) ear pinning procedure using plastic surgery technique to reshape the ears so they would be closer to the head and less prominent overall. As with most otoplasty patients his age and older, this was performed under a local anesthetic in our outpatient surgery center in San Diego. The entire surgery was done from behind the ears to reduce the excess cartilage prominence and sew the ear closer to the surface of the head. He tolerated the procedure well.
Before Ear Pinning Photos
Immediate Post Otoplasty Photo
This photo was taken within minutes of completing his ear pinning surgery. As you can appreciate, his ears are slightly overcorrected from the otoplasty. This is done intentionally so that, once the ears relax, there is still a nice correction in the shape and size of the ears. As you can also see in the photo, there is very little swelling or bruising immediately after the ear pinning.
Ear Pinning Bandage
Within a minute of the above photo, a standard compression wrap was placed around the ears to keep them in position while trying to minimize swelling that would inevitably occur over the following several days. This bandage is comprised of an inner layer of cotton to help gentle push the ears against the head with an outer layer of ‘coban’ – one of the more common dressings used in facial plastic surgery. This is probably the most uncomfortable part of the ear pinning surgery since the bandage can be fairly tight. Unfortunately, it is a necessary evil when it comes to cosmetic ear reshaping. The good news is that we normally remove this bandage within 1-2 days, replacing it with a more tolerable dressing.
4 Days Out From Ear Pinning
The adjacent photo represents the same patient 4 days out from having his ears pinned back. As you can easily see, he looks fairly good in terms of being publicly presentable – and it has only been 4 days! Compare this photo with his preoperative photo above and you can really get an appreciation for how much improvement can be seen following ear pinning surgery. Stay tuned for additional postoperative photos coming in the next few weeks to months. We also have a great video chronicling his recovery from ear pinning surgery that we will post as soon as we can. In the meantime, I hope this helps provide any potential otoplasty candidates a realistic view of what they might be able to expect following ear reshaping surgery in our San Diego office.
Additional Otoplasty Information
To see more before and after photos of ear pinning patients done in our San Diego office, click here. To learn more about the actual ear pinning surgery for cosmetic reshaping of the ears, use this link here for our online San Diego Otoplasty Patient Primer.
Posted on April 26, 2011 in Ear Lobe Reshaping, Ear Pinning, Ear Reshaping, Otoplasty
One of the most commonly performed surgeries here at The Hilinski Clinic of Facial Plastic Surgery is ear pinning to help reshape an overly prominent ear. This is a plastic surgery procedure involving the ear that is listed on many plastic surgeons’ websites. Unfortunately, many board certified plastic surgeons, even those that are well-established in the community, simply do not do ear pinning on a regular basis. What sparked this plastic surgery blog entry is a discussion I just had with a San Diego patient looking to have ear pinning surgery. We were both commenting on how many plastic surgeons here in San Diego ‘offer’ ear pinning surgery as part of their practice. But only a small percentage of these plastic surgeons have a good number of patient photo examples to show potential ear pinning candidates their actual surgical results. You have to ask yourself why this is the case? The answer is likely because they simply haven’t done the surgery often enough with successful results to have developed a photo library of this particular plastic surgery procedure. What else would explain this?
San Diego Ear Pinning Sampling
Because of this most recent ear pinning consultation, I conducted a quick, informal sampling of San Diego plastic surgeons offering ear pinning, or otoplasty, surgery online. I did this to get an idea of how many photo gallery examples were provided. Out of six plastic surgeons’ websites here in San Diego, there was an average of 1-2 ear pinning photos showing their work. Granted, this isn’t a very scientific method. But, in my personal opinion as a board certified facial plastic surgeon, I think you would have more patient examples to show if you were doing ear pinning surgery on a regular basis. Just makes sense, doesn’t it?
Posted on March 15, 2011 in Ear Reshaping, Otoplasty
I just finished one of the more unique cases of ear reshaping, or otoplasty, in quite a while. This particular patient presented to our San Diego plastic surgery office desiring reshaping of her ears. She had her earlobe gauging, or stretching, many years ago that created a progressively larger hole in her ear. After many years of this, she finally decided to remove the earlobe gauges and have her ears reshaped. Below left is a lateral view of her left ear showing the extent of the earlobe gauging or earlobe stretching. As you can see, there is a fairly dramatic change in the shape of the earlobe. In fact, it looks as if the bottom of her ear is simply just hanging off. Given the type of changes that were noted, I outlined a plan to reconstruct the earlobe to help restore a relatively normal looking ear for her. The reconstruction used to repair her damaged earlobe actually involves well-established plastic surgery techniques that are based on tissue expansion. In essence, I looked at her stretched earlobes as having already undergone one form of tissue expansion and utilized the excess soft tissue to recreate a more natural appearing earlobe. This included removal of a significant amount of excess tissue that was stretched and damaged from the earlobe gauges. The remaining soft tissue was then strategically trimmed and rotated around (repositioned) before being sutured in place. As you can see, even in the immediate postoperative ear reshaping photo below right (taken immediately after her otoplasty procedure), her ear looks markedly better. The blue threads correspond to the small suture, or stitches, that were used to realign the skin edges. Once these sutures are removed in 5-6 days, her ear will look even more normal with restoration of a very natural looking ear. If you or a friend have undergone gauging of the earlobe and are considering a return to a more natural looking ear through plastic surgery, give our office a call today. Or to learn more about ear plastic surgery, read our online otoplasty tutorial on ear reshaping surgery.
Posted on February 24, 2011 in Ear Lobe Reshaping, Ear Pinning, Otoplasty
One of the most dramatic views to compare when looking at before and after ear plastic surgery photos is this base view. It is always nice to confirm just how much change in the shape of the ear has been accomplished with otoplasty. For instance, this San Diego ear reshaping patient had ears that were fairly prominent in terms of sticking out from the side of the head. On this base view of her ears, you can see how the auricle is angulated nearly 90 degrees from the scalp surface. Otoplasty, also known commonly as ear pinning and ear reshaping, was able to be done from completely behind her ears. By reshaping the ear and bringing the entire auricle closer to the head (essentially pinning the ears back), her ears now look much less prominent. In fact, you don’t even pay attention to her ears when looking at her now following ear plastic surgery. The patient is also much less self-conscious now about her ears. Of course, the frontal view before and after ear reshaping surgery is always the one patients and plastic surgeons care about most commonly. But this base view is also nice to visually compare really how much the ears can be reshaped in many otoplasty patients.
Posted on January 27, 2011 in Ear Lobe Reshaping, Face Lift, Facelift, Otoplasty
I just finished two surgeries in the last two days with both patients undergoing combined facelift surgery with otoplasty (ear reshaping). It just so happens that both of these patients from San Diego desired reshaping of their ears as well as facial rejuvenation of the lower face and upper neck. In both cases, we were able to easily reshape the ears in the midst of the face lift procedure. When performing a facelift surgery, we have to make incisions around the ears to lift the face. During this exposure, the ears are quite accessible to cosmetic reshaping. In one of the patients we also reduced the size of the earlobes as part of the cosmetic ear reshaping. Although not a common combination in facial plastic surgery, it can definitely be done as evidenced by my last two days in surgery!
