Waldemar Merck, MD

Been wanting less prominent ears for as long as I can remember but I was not willing to go through a proper otoplasty, especially since my defect was not huge. I did consider having an Ear Fold procedure done but my ears being slightly asymmetric and the Ear Fold being a universal device which cannot be modified, would not have corrected them the way I wished to. I had anyway a consultation with a surgeon in London whom also explained me that the implants can be often seen under really thin skin (which I sadly have) and that they lately do not implant more than one implant in each ear because of the risks of extra complications. I then decided to go with the Merck’s method. I had it done by Dr Bern (Dr. Merck’s direct partner) in Konstanz, Germany. The procedure is pretty painless and does last around two hours. One can check during the procedure if what the doctor is creating is of your liking and ask him eventually to correct more. (which I did for both ears). The first night is not easy (even if you take that one extra painkiller) but it all gets much better by the next first morning. By then, the pain is EASILY bearable. I could sleep on the second night on my back (I am a back sleeper, so it was not too difficult for me). I have been taking painkillers for three days only. After that, I felt I just did not need them any longer. The ears are swollen and red for around four days. By day five, they were almost back to normal. You will have tiny scabs for a good month which you are not supposed to touch. No need to go back and check with the doctor. He gives you his phone number anyway shall you have any trouble or emergency. (which I thought was nice considering that the one in London refused to and I would have had to go through his secretaries first shall I have needed anything after the surgery). The big risk of this surgery is that a thread might pop out (in which case the entire procedure will have to be repeated unfortunately) and that the ears will protrude again, which I really hope will not happen. Totally worth it for now. Updated on 15 Apr 2019: Two months update ; it really was an easy recovery. Sleeping was a little annoying towards the very beginning but honestly nothing major at all. I had a little pain for around a week approximately three weeks ago and I think it was caused by the temporary stiches sticking to the scabs too tightly and I felt some weird sharp pain when moving around. The surgeon suggested to go and had them removed but I could not find a doctor available and I did just patiently wait. It took almost two months to get rid of them (but they were behind the ears, hence not visible). As the doctor mentioned up here, the 2mm did “happen” and my ears are now sticking out a little more compared to day one. Consider over correction shall you go for the procedure. I should have since what I had to correct was already minor in the first place. No thread sticking out so far, so fingers crossed. Updated on 6 Jun 2019: Well, not going super great here. My left ear decided to stick nicely out again in the past couple of weeks. It is still not the way it was before the surgery, but considering that my correction was minimal, it is pretty annoying. Also, i have a weird bump on the upper part of the right ear (probably a thread knot under the skin) which is sticking out quite a lot and I am very scared it will "pop" out. I wrote them an email and see what sort of post operative support is provided.