What is Prominent Ear?
The fact that the ears are seen especially clearly in the face or back view and that they extend more steeply than they should be from the head is called “prominent ear deformity”. This situation is seen in approximately 5% of the population with different degrees and different types. It can be seen in one or both ears. Prominent ear deformity does not cause any health problems. However, it can cause significant psychological distress in people.
There are operations performed to correct the prominent ear deformity, the treatment of which requires surgery other than the early newborn period. These operations are called “otoplasty”.
What Causes the Appearance of Prominent Ears?
Prominent ear deformity occurs due to two different causes. These are the overdevelopment of the “concal cartilage”, which forms the archaic turbinate section on the inside of the auricle, and the incomplete formation of the fold called “antihelix” inside the auricle.
These two conditions can be seen alone or together and lead to the appearance of prominent ears.In order to get successful results in prominent ear surgery, a detailed evaluation should be made before surgery. After this evaluation, the cause of the problem should be fully understood and surgical procedures should be performed in a way to correct all existing problems.
When is Prominent Ear Surgery Performed?
It takes up to 10 years for the development of the auricle to complete. In addition, this development is largely completed at the age of 4-5 years. There is no harm in performing prominent ear surgery at any time of life. In addition, this problem can lead to psychological problems depending on environmental factors, especially in children at school age. For this reason, otoplasty surgeries are often performed on children during the school period.
Is There a Risk of Prominent Ear Surgery?
Otoplasty surgery is generally among the low-risk operations. The most common problems that can be seen in the short term after surgery are blood collection at the operation site. However, the infection may also occur. However, both problems can be eliminated smoothly with appropriate treatments.
The problems that can be seen in the medium-long term are the formation of asymmetry in the ears or the reappearance of the prominent ear appearance over time. Thanks to detailed preoperative evaluation and appropriate surgical techniques, such a situation is relatively rare. However, if it develops, surgery is usually required to be performed again to solve this problem.
