Otoplasty for kids

The most common cosmetic defects that can currently very easily be treated with a surgical procedure
include protruding ears. Deviations in the size or shape of the auricle are also common. All these cosmetic defects are treated surgically, with a procedure called otoplasty. The surgery can be performed on both adult clients and children.

A child should want the surgery itself in the first place as healing proceeds substantially better when the child is prepared for it, in view of the development and growth of the auricle, surgery is carried out at the age of 6 years at the earliest and only in a few cases sooner. The age limit for auricle surgery in childhood is therefore 6 -9 years of age. In adolescence, which follows after the age of 10, there is already high risk of hypertrophic or keloid scars that are difficult to treat.

Unless complications occur, auricles in the required shape and position.

In children, the procedure is performed under general anaesthesia. First, we perform an incision on the posterior surface of the ear and remove excess skin, then we penetrate the cartilage to the anterior surface, lift the skin and subcutaneous tissue, model the cartilage to the desired shape, and then suture everything again. The stitches on the posterior auricle surface are absorbable. Subsequently, modelling stitches are applied (non-absorbable) and boluses that will be removed after 7-9 days. After the surgery, the child will wear a slightly compressive elastic bandage on the head.

The length of hospitalisation is 1 day.

Should everything be all right in the postoperative period, the patient will be discharged on the day after the bandages are changed.
Regular changes of bandages are done at intervals of 2-4 days. The next step is extraction of the fixation (modelling) stitches at 7-9 days during the change in bandages.
After extraction of the fixation stitches, it is necessary to observe the wearing of an elastic compressive headdress for about 24 hours daily for 2-3 weeks. We further recommend wearing an elastic compressive headdress for another 2-3 weeks only at night.
The client should observe a resting regimen for 14 days to 3 weeks, and then it is possible to do sports but sufficiently protect the auricles against trauma.