Concha Bowl Reduction - Can You Flatten It or is It Cut Out?

The conchal bowl is the inside portion of the ear. It is made up of cartilage. In some people who have protruding ears, the conchal bowl is enlarged. Depending on how enlarged it is, the concha can be setback using sutures alone, an excision of cartilage and skin, or excision of cartilage with sutures to set the ear back. This will ultimately depend on the amount of setback required.  

Conchal bowl reduction can be achieved with direct resection or through the use of a setback sutures to rotate the concha against the skull.

If your ears stick out too far from your head, and if you want your conchal bowls "flattened out", I will typically set back the concha with 2 or 3 permanent nylon sutures. I do not remove or incise any ear cartilage during Otoplasty Surgery. I hope you find this helpful.