Otoplasty: Changing The Look Of One's Ears

This article explains otoplasty and the recovery period after the procedure. It also gives reasons why people go for this procedure.

The alteration and improvement of the external ears is called otoplasty and it is done with the use of plastic surgery. There are various reasons for wanting to alter the external ears and most of them have something to do with improving the appearance. On the other hand, other reasons will have something to do with returning form and function to the body part because it has been previously damaged or the individual was born with them. The damage could have been caused by a fire, an accident or something else.

Otoplasty is basically simple. The surgeon will try to reconstruct the outer ear or to reform it in such a way that the patient has envisioned it. Depending on what needs to be done, the doctor might try to attach cartilages unto the ear to try to make them more visible or the doctor might try to give them a pinned back appearance.

The pinned back appearance is one where the ears appear closer to the head compared to its original position where they appear to stick out from the individual's head. Reconstructive surgery for the ears may be a bit more difficult because cartilage and flesh needs to be added unto what is left of the ear. In some cases, the ear may not actually look as it should but close to it.

The Procedure

The doctor initially sedates or anesthetizes the patient accordingly, before the otoplasty procedure commences. When the surgeon or the anesthesiologist ns satisfied with the effect of the drug on the patient, the surgeon may commence with the operation. If the patient needs reconstruction, the doctor will have readied the cartilage and the flesh needed to do the procedure.

These are not easy things to get so most likely, these could be harvested from the patient himself. It is not unusual to do this and most reconstructive surgeries make use of a patient's extraneous flesh. If the procedure is a plastic surgery procedure, the doctor will mark the current ears to indicate what he needs to do and where he needs to do it. Pinning is sort of like taking off some of the excess cartilage and flesh and then rearranging them into a more desirable position. Making bigger ears appear small is also the same way; the excesses are cut off.

Recovery
Recovery from this procedure is easy and fast. The prescribed medicines and recommendations of the surgeons should be followed to prevent complications from rearing their ugly heads. The most likely medications are antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs and pain relievers. Immediately after the otoplasty, the patient should still not feel any pain due to the anesthetic.

The discomfort may occur when the patient has gone home already. This is where having the medicines ready before the procedure is a good idea. It is not advisable for the patient to be running around buying medicines just a few hours after the operation. He or she should be home resting and avoiding any taxing activities as of the moment.