Most cosmetic surgeons will give you a free initial consultation. At the initial consultation, they’ll look at your ear and describe what they can do to repair it. Ask each doctor lots of questions, including how long they’ve been practicing and how many of these procedures they’ve done. Many plastic surgeons have before and after pictures from previous surgeries that you can also look at. Costs for this procedure vary depending on the complexity of the damage to your ear. The doctor will let you know a total price at your initial consultation.
Even though ear repair surgery is a relatively minor procedure don’t with local anesthesia, there are still some risks, especially if you’re taking medication for a chronic medical condition.
Your doctor typically will tell you to refrain from smoking or drinking on the day of surgery. If you take blood thinners for high blood pressure, your doctor might advise you not to take them before the surgery. Drink plenty of water and make sure you’re well-hydrated. It will help with recovery. Stop taking any blood thinners or supplements 2 weeks before your surgery.
Expect the procedure to last about a half-hour. If you have more complicated damage to your ear lobe, it might take longer. Typically, you’ll have sutures on both the front and the back of your ear. You’ll need to return to get the sutures taken out in about a week. Your doctor will usually schedule this appointment before you leave their office after the procedure. Because doctors typically only use local anesthesia for this procedure, it’s perfectly safe for you to drive yourself.
If you have longer hair, you might want to pull it back so that it doesn’t interfere with your ears or contaminate the surgical site. If you go swimming regularly, ask your doctor when you can go swimming again. Typically, it will be okay to do so after the initial 2-day period. However, your doctor might want you to cover your ears to protect them from the chlorine in the pool. Avoid completely submerging your ears for the first 2–3 days so your sutures heal properly.
Your doctor may recommend a specific brand of cleaning solution or ointment. If there’s another brand that you prefer, ask them if you can use that instead.
Make sure you have a washcloth or towel to protect your skin. Never put anything frozen directly on your skin.
If you were taking a blood thinner for a medical condition, your doctor might advise you to discontinue taking it for the first day or two after your surgery unless doing so would put your health at risk. You also want to avoid any herbal supplements or teas that might have blood-thinning properties, including garlic, ginger, ginkgo, ginseng, and green tea.
It may still be 2 to 4 weeks before your ears are completely healed. Your doctor can give you an estimate based on their condition after the sutures are removed. If you had holes stretched by heavy earrings repaired, you’ll likely only have a small scar. Other than that scar, your ears will look about the same as they did before. If you had larger holes repaired, however, you’ll have a larger scar and your ear lobe shape may be different than it was before you started stretching them. [11] X Research source
If your doctor instructed you to wait longer than 6 weeks, follow your doctor’s instructions. If you want to get your ears re-pierced sooner, you might have them look at your ears and let you know if you can. If you had holes stretched with gauges or plugs, you may never be able to pierce your ears again, depending on how much you stretched them and the complexity of the repair surgery. [13] X Research source
You can also convert your large fashion earrings into clip-ons and wear them that way, so you don’t have to get rid of your favorite pair of earrings to save your ears.
Even if you leave earrings in for a little while after you get home, always remember to take them off before you go to bed. Sleeping in your earrings can cause injury to your ear lobes.
You can buy earring backs at jewelry or beauty supply stores or online. Look for ones that specifically state that they distribute the weight of heavy earrings. Then, you can replace your regular earring backs with the more supportive ones.
If you like dangly earrings, look for ones made from a material that doesn’t snag (rub it lightly against a sweater to check), or with designs that don’t have hooks or points that could easily get caught on something.
