For the child, this type of defect is often a cause of ridicule and mockery by other children, and among adults it is common to find individuals who still hide, are ashamed, or feel limited by their ears.
Prominent fan ears or protruding protruding ears are the cause of important complexes, especially in children and young people, but also in adults. They are usually operated at the age of 8 or 9 years when the result of the same is completed, although it is not uncommon to intervene at other ages.
How are protruding ears corrected?
Its correction is very simple and consists of obtaining the missing curvature through an incision in the back. This type of deformity consists of an alteration either of the anatomical proportions that form the ear or of the harmonic development of the curves that shape the pinna. It has a genetic component, that is to say, there are possibilities of transmission from parents to children.
How is it diagnosed that a child has protruding ears?
The diagnosis is made quickly by the pediatrician and parents, who observe that the child’s ears project exaggeratedly outwards from the head. This first diagnosis is temporary, as there is a possibility that the proper shape can be restored in the first years of life.
Often one hears about home methods to solve the problem: the plaster bandage that keeps the ear attached to the head, hiding the ears with hair, or simply accepting the idea of having ears like this and accepting it.
A bit of history
There are many and varied distortions that can present the ears, and each one has given rise to a large number of techniques. Dieffenbach (1845) performed the removal of a retroauricular skin ellipse in order to bring back the whole ear. Luckett (1910) treated the cartilage and skin. Subsequently, other surgeons have devised more and more original techniques to correct the frequent auricular defects. One of the most ingenious techniques is that of Pitanguy (1962), who made an elliptical incision in the cartilage (island technique), thus breaking the rigidity of the cartilage, and at the same time creating the missing antihelix by projecting the island, which remains attached anteriorly to the skin.
The surgical solution: how is it performed?
Otoplasty is the surgery that shapes the ears, and also includes interventions aimed at correcting the excessive size of the ears, the lobe and even the partial or total lack of the pinna.
The ideal is to perform the surgery when the ears have reached their definitive development, between seven and nine years of age, but it is not always convenient to wait that long. The consequences and repercussions can be more unfavorable than the fact of anticipating the surgery somewhat (at 3 years of age 85% of the development of the ears has taken place). This evaluation has to be done between the child, the parents and the surgeon.
The surgery lasts approximately one hour, it is simple but very delicate. It is usually performed on an outpatient basis, i.e. the patient remains under observation at the end of the surgery and after a few hours is sent home. Normally, as long as the patient’s characteristics allow it, it is performed under local anesthesia, although general anesthesia may be necessary in certain cases. In children it is important to give them a pre-anesthetic medication to avoid fear and anxiety before the operating room.