Otoplasty: Correcting Your Kid's Ears With The Procedure

Otoplasty is a relatively simple and straightforward plastic surgery designed to correct ear deformities. A large percentage of the population has irregularly shaped ears. Some simply stick out too much, while others can be seriously disfiguring and cause to social problems. Severe causes can interfere with hearing.

Doctors say that you should have an otoplasty operation done as early as possible. Getting it done at a young age guarantees better results. But, how young is too young?

Ear Correction Treatment For Babies

It's impossible to do surgery on babies, but there are other options available. Molds and splints can be used to "pin back" the ear. These consist of splints and tape. The treatment is painless and your baby won't even know it's there. Young babies don't move around much when they sleep, so there's little risk of the splints coming off. This method is non-surgical, risk free and effective in correcting deformities.

This technique is best used with newborns. As soon as the birth coating is off, treatment can begin. It's tricky sometimes to see deformities in a newborn's ear, but often a trained physician can see them. The tape and splint "pin back" treatment can be used with babies up to six months. After that, the cartilage becomes too hard and otoplasty is needed.

Otoplasty For Small Children

It's possible for surgery to be done on any age from six months up, but it's best to wait until the ears are fully formed. Even after the cartilage begins to harden at six months, it still takes time before the ears are fully formed. Performing otoplasty before they are fully developed is ineffective because the ears are still growing.

Plastic surgeons usually recommend performing the procedure before the kids are interacting with other kids at school. However, it's best to wait until they're old enough to understand what's going on. For a child that doesn't understand, the surgery can be traumatic. It's also a big help if they understand that, in the months following the operation, they'll have to take special care of their ear.

For this reason, doctors recommend waiting until kids are out of the "toddler" stage. A good time to correct the ears is around age 4-5, when the kids are old enough to understand but haven't entered school yet.

Otoplasty is the best way to correct ear irregularities. It's a difficult operation for kid and parent alike, but the results will change your child's life. They'll be able to enjoy childhood with normal, healthy ears.