DEFINITION, AIMS AND PRINCIPLES

The correction of prominent ears needs a surgical procedure called “otoplasty”, which the goal is to reshape the auricles. The surgery is usually performed on the two auricles but could be done unilaterally. An otoplasty corrects the auricle’s cartilaginous abnormalities which are the cause of the prominent aspect. Schematically, we can distinguish three types of abnormalities which are often, more or less, associated :

• Too open angle between the auricle and the skull, carrying out the so called “prominence” (valgus helix).

• Too large size of the conchal cartilage (see diagram) projecting forward the ear which improves the prominent aspect (concha hypertrophy).

• Failure into the normal cartilage reliefs folding which gives a too smooth, like “unpleated”, aspect to the ear (lack of anthelix plicature).

Surgery, definitively, corrects these abnormalities, by reshaping the ear cartilage, in order to obtain wellpositionned, symetrical ears also natural in size and aspect. So, prominent ears surgery also ends the mockeries and other unpleasant remarcks which may have induced psychological difficulties or school problems. An otoplasty can be performed in an adult, in an teenager or, most of the time in a 6-7 years old child, as soon as the child starts suffering of his/her ear aspect.