Ear Lobe Surgery: Q&A

Ask a Question

Will Stretched Ear Lobes Ever Shrink Back to Normal Size?

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?

Tags:

Comment on this

27 Doctor Answers | Asked by alva97 in Gahanna, OH

Doctor Answers (27)
Community Comments (1)

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.

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

5 reviews

Birmingham Plastic Surgeon

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.

You might also like...

Real Stories

Ear Lobe Reduction...- Nashville, TN

When I went for my consultation I ask for an ear lobe reduction... I ask him what the cost...

Before + After Photos

42 Year Old Male 10 Months After Earlobe Reduction

View 100 Ear Lobe Surgery photos

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.

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.

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 Lone Tree Facial Plastic & Cosmetic Surgery Center

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.

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.

Torn cleft earlobes & big holes!

With ear piercing more popular and gauged lobes, too, we see more patients requesting repair of their once attractive lobules. The torn (split) lobes from earrings that got pulled out are simple to repair. The large stretched lobes from gauge jewelry take a bit more expertise. But both of these little surgeries are usually performed under local anesthesia in the surgeon's office. Healing is usually rapid and within a few weeks the ears typically look good. So, the answer is "no",... more

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

12 reviews

Portland Facial Plastic Surgeon

tinyurl.com

Doctors will not see your comments on their answers. If you'd like to follow up, please go here to ask another question.

Comments (1)

Rishel
3 Oct 2012

If you're asking this before stretching, I would seriously reconsider stretching in the first place. Just like plastic surgery, which is really one in the same with body modification, body mods are meant to be permanent. If you don't intend for these modifications, whether surgical or non-medical, to be lifelong then you probably shouldn't do them at all. Like the PSs already explained, it can be highly unpredictable as to whether or not they will shrink. They will definitely never fully close again without corrective surgery. What makes their ability to shrink SLIGHTLY more predictable are several factors. How elastic is your skin to begin with? How are you stretching? Are you skipping sizes in between? How big do you plan to go? I improperly stretched mine years ago (skipping sizes and dead stretching) up to about an 8/6g, and then had to remove them. My ears shrank back down to regular 22/20g earring size thanks to having very elastic skin. To increase your likelihood of your ears shrinking back down to normal size after gauging, I offer the following recommendations- Never skip sizes and wait at LEAST a month (preferably 2-3) in between. Use the taper and teflon taping methods whenever possible. In order of preferred stretching method, greatest to least, based on damage to the fistula: teflon taping, taper, dead stretch. Dead stretch is when you just put in the next size. Never use any other method, such as scalpelling, as this will increase scar tissue and decrease likelihood of shrinking. If you decide to take them back out, give them 6 months to a year to shrink. After a year, you've pretty much reached the limit of how small they'll get. Also, 2/0g is considered the "point of no return". Do NOT stretch higher than a 2g if you're not 100% certain these are for-life modifications.

Ask a Question

These answers are for educational purposes and should not be relied upon as a substitute for medical advice you may receive from your physician. If you have a medical emergency, please call 911. These answers do not constitute or initiate a patient/doctor relationship.

Ear Lobe Surgery: Q&A