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Will Stretched Ear Lobes Ever Shrink Back to Normal Size?

asked 1 year ago by alva97 in Gahanna, OH
Latest answer by Michael M. Kim, MD
Question viewed 7,674 times
Tags: male, non surgical, normal, shrink, stretched

I was wondering if you would always have to get surgery after stretching your earlobes. I have heard from others that depending on how big you stretch them, they will shrink down but I want to make sure with a professional. I will attach a picture that shows the top size i would like to go to. So in other words, will they ever close up if ear lobes are stretched, if not will they ever shrink down to a normal ear piercing size like 18mm?

26 answers to Will Stretched Ear Lobes Ever Shrink Back to Normal Size?

+3

Surgery will bring it back to normal

This is a common question. The holes will shrink to a certain degree but never completely close. Surgery is your best option if you would like to have a closed hole. The procedure is an office procedure performed under local anesthesia. Good luck.
Moneer Jaibaji, MD

San Diego Plastic Surgeon
+2

Shrinkage of stretched ear lobes

The ear lobes may shrink by themselves, but only by a modest amount. Surgery is probably the only predictable way to reduce them.
Anindya Lahiri, MBBS

Birmingham Plastic Surgeon
+2

Will I need ear lobe surgery after gauging?

The earlobe will shrink but never look normal again without surgery.  I would wait until it finnishes shrinking on its own before cutting out and closing the hole.  You cannot wear the gauges for the entire time that it is shrinking.
Neal Goldberg, MD

Westchester Plastic Surgeon
+2

Ear lobe stretching

This is a very common issue in the young patient population.  The short answer is no.  The long answer is that it also depends on how stretched the skin was to begin with.  No matter what, you will need some form skin closure to close the hole and then re-piercing after that.  That is your best solution.
Bhupesh Vasisht, MD

Voorhees Plastic Surgeon
+2

Stretched ear lobes will not shrink to normal size.

After earlobes are gauged they will shrink, but not back to normal.  The stretched holes can be fixed in the office under local anesthesia.
Sanjiv Kayastha, MD

Albany Plastic Surgeon
+2

Small to medium gauge piercings will permanently stretch your ear lobes

Small to medium gauge piercings will permanently stretch your ear lobes. I agree with my fellow plastic surgeons that even though your gauge piercings are smaller than some others that your earlobes will never completely heal on their own. They WILL contract but there will always be a hole there. Repair can be performed in the office and typically results in a nice appearing earlobe. Dr. Stephen Weber, Facial Plastic Surgeon 
Stephen Weber, MD

Lone Tree Facial Plastic Surgeon
+2

Will Earlobes Shrink Without Surgery

If the ring is removed the size of the hole will decrease but by how much is unpredictable.  This will occur over approximately 6 months.  Based on the photograph you provided, I would not think that the final size -  in the absence of surgery - would be cosmetically acceptable to you.
Andrew B. Denton, MD

Vancouver Facial Plastic Surgeon
+2

Gauged Earlobe Holes Will Shrink But Never Go Completely Away

You have small gauged earlobes in comparison to some I have seen. When you remove your gauges, your earlobe holes will shrink down to some degree. The holes will never completely close and it is just a matter of how small they will get. After 6 months they will likely shrink down leaving a residual hole about the size of half a pencil width.
Barry L. Eppley, MD, DMD

Indianapolis Plastic Surgeon
+1

Stretched and Gauged Earlobes Unlikely to Return to Standard Piercing Size

In my opinion, it is doubtful that your gauge holes will return to a normal piercing size. A few patients who I recently treated were gauge to '00' which is only one size bigger than yours. Despite having gauges out of their ears for about a year, they still had noticeable holes that needed to be repaired. Michael M. Kim, MD
Michael M. Kim, MD

Portland Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1

Will Stretched Earlobes Ever Shrink Back to Normal Size

Stretched out earlobes are permanent. While the hole may shrink somewhat they still remain quite large and the earlobe remains thin and stretched out. Repair consists of excision of the stretched out earlobe hole combined with reshaping of the elongated earlobe. to restore a more normal appearance. This repair is performed under local as an office procedure.
Fredrick A. Valauri, MD

New York Plastic Surgeon

www.drvalauri.com

+1

Stretched earlobes will not revert without surgery

If your ears are gauged, removal of the plug will result in a gradual reduction of the hole but not complete retraction. Surgery will be required to close the hole and it will not shrink to the equivalent of a normal piercing. Closure of the gauge can be performed in the office under local anesthesia at a reasonable cost. The fee for gauged ears is higher than for simple earlobe repair because of the added operative time and complexity but should not exceed $1000 per ear.
Robert L. Kraft, MD

New York Plastic Surgeon

www.foresthillsplasticsurgery.com

+1

Ear lobe stretching

Yes the earlobe opening will shrink back quite a bit although will never close completely. Surgical pair is quite successful. If or when this becomes necessary seek care by a well experienced board-certified plastic surgeon. Best wishes.
Tom J. Pousti, MD

San Diego Plastic Surgeon
+1

Ear lobe stretching

The younger you are, the more likely it is that the ear lobe will shrink. Having said that, the more you stretch it, the more difficult it will be for the earlobe to shrink because collagen fibers can tear during expansion making it difficult for skin to 'snap' back. If it does happen, ear lobe repair is a straight forward procedure that can be performed in the office in about 20 minutes per side.
Mike Majmundar, MD

Atlanta Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1

No, you will always have the holes unless they are repaired surgically.

Surgery to repair gaged earlobes is quick and simple and usually gives great results.. A careful excision of the hole and suturing of the earlobe back together works very well in most cases.
Mark Taylor, MD

Salt Lake City Dermatologic Surgeon
+1

Stretched earlobes

Stretched earlobes will improve to some degree if your stop wearing the causitive jewlry. But do not count on them to return to its prepiercing form. This will likely require surgery.
Chen Lee, MD

Montreal Plastic Surgeon
+1

Stretched/gauged earlobes will not return to normal

Hi Alva. The answer to your question depends mostly upon how much the piercing site is expanded / stretched. Other contributing factors include the length of time the lobe is stretched, and the resilience of the skin. I would advise you not to count on them to 'shrink down to a normal ear piercing size.' In my experience, rarely does the piercing look entirely normal after more than minimal stretching. If needed, a minor surgical procedure can reestablish a more normal appearance.... more
James M. Pearson, MD

Los Angeles Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1

Stretched earlobes will not shrink and close on their own but earlobe plastic surgery will correct it.

Stretched earlobes will not shrink and close on their own but earlobe plastic surgery will correct it. This depends on what was done and how long and how much the earlobe was stretched. It is very small like 1-2mm wide it could. But most likely you will need some surgical repair of the earlobe to make a difference. I prefer to close the hole completely and then repierce the ear at a later date, 3-6 months later. The surgery can be done under local or oral or IV sedation. We have... more
Philip Young, MD

Bellevue Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1

Gauged Earlobe Repair

Ear lobes that have had a gauge will never shrink back to normal.  The bigger the gauge, the longer it has been in place, and the older the person, the less the ear will shrink.  Removal of the gauge will allow some shrinking of the earlobe, but it will likely be very far from looking like a normal ear lobe.  I have had great success in repairing gauged ear lobes with surgery.  It is easily done under local anesthesia and costs about $2000 for both ears. more
Louis W. Apostolakis, MD

Austin Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.dr-apo.com

+1

STRETCHED OR GAUGED EARLOBES WILL REQUIRE ADDITIONAL SURGERY TO MAKE THEM LOOK NORMAL AGAIN

Stretched or gauged ear lobes will not return or shrink back to their original size. should you desire to correct the problem, you will require surgery. drcordoba.com Dr. Carlos Cordoba MDCM, CSPQ, FRCS, FACS Plastic & Esthetic Surgeon 4055 Ste-Catherine O. Suite 100 Montreal, QC. Canada H3Z 3J8 514-932-7667
Carlos Cordoba, MD

Montreal Plastic Surgeon
+1

Stretched ear lobes will not shrink back to normal size

Stretched earlobes will not retract back to their normal size and excess skin will need to be removed.  The hole on the internal portion of where the earring is placed will have to be removed and fresh skin sewn back together with both edges to allow full healing.  Otherwise, the hole will never close.  
William Portuese, MD

Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1

Treating Stretched Earlobes

While we can create the illusion of tightening earlobes by injecting filling material, in general the overly stretched earlobe requires surgical tightening and filling for the ultimate improvement.
Deason Dunagan, MD

Huntsville Plastic Surgeon
+1

Shrinking of Stretched or Gauged Ear Lobes

If you are relatively young (less than 35) and you have not had your ears stretched or gauged for very long (less than a year) there is a decent chance that the hole will decrease in size. However, even if it does shrink, it is very likely that you will need some type of surgical procedure to repair the earl lobe so that it is less conspicuous. Typically I do this in the office under local anesthesia and there are some stitches that are removed in approximately one week. The recovery is... more
Gregory J. Vipond, MD

Pasadena Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1

Earlobe Stretching and Recover

While the hole might shrink a small amount, it will never close significantly nor appear like a normal earlobe. Surgery to correct this is relatively straightforward. The tunnel that was created is removed with a small amount of skin, and the skin is sutured closed.
Andrew Kaufman, MD

Los Angeles Dermatologic Surgeon
+1

Stretched ear lobes and surgical correction

Unfortunately,  pierced earlobe holes will not significantly shrink.  However it is a relatively easy procedure to correct this problem and the surgery can be performed under local anesthesia and takes just a few minuits.
Vincent D. Lepore, MD

San Jose Plastic Surgeon
+1

Stretched earlobes

Stretched earlobes will require surgery to correct the excess skin.  This in general is a fairly simple surgery and may be done under local anesthesia.  If tears are present, they may be repaired at the same time.  Dr. Donald Nunn Plastic Surgeon.
Donald Nunn, MD, DDS

Atlanta Plastic Surgeon
+1

Stretched lobes don't shink

Stretched lobes will not shrink back to normal size.  The only way to get them back to normal size is surgically.
Jeffrey Ellis, MD

Long Island Dermatologic Surgeon

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