Weird looking ear after otoplasty. Is this normal? (Photo)

It is important to communicate directly with your plastic surgeon in regards to your concerns post-operation. I schedule follow up appointments with my patients so that I can help them through the healing process and reassure them of any concerns they may be having. It does take several weeks to see results for most cosmetic procedures. I recommend for you to be consulting with a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon.  

Hi,
In order to create the appropriate folds in the ear, sutures are placed in the cartilage and are tightened until the exact desired look is achieved - all in the operating room. I do not know the details of your surgery, but the photo you have provided is not normal. The good news is that it is fairly easy to fix the problem by cutting the suture, the bad news is that you will be back to the pre-surgical appearance of that ear. 
Good luck,
Mehdi Sina, MD

Hello, asker123!  At one week you still have a bit of swelling yet to resolve so you could see definite improvement over time.  Give it a few more weeks and then discuss your concerns with your surgeon. Usually form issues like this can be improved.  Hope this helps!

Dr. M

Thank you for your question. You submitted a single photo, state you had an otoplasty done a week prior,  and you’re concerned about the appearance of your ear. You addressed this concern with your surgeon who stated the final appearance will occur in 3 weeks. I think you are looking for additional perspectives as to whether or not the appearance is normal.
I can share with you my perception based on a photo alone in the absence of a physical examination and the details of your surgery. A little background: I’m a Board-certified cosmetic surgeon and Fellowship-trained oculofacial plastic and reconstructive surgeon. I have been in practice in Manhattan and Long Island for over 20 years. Otoplasty is a procedure performed in our practice. What I believe is the intention of your otoplasty is something I can help you understand, and give you some guidance on what may be the issue at this point.
When you analyze the appearance of an ear for a patient who feels it is prominent, we basically look at the ear in thirds. We look at the area known as the antihelical fold which appears to be what was treated in your surgery. There’s an area called the conchal bowl, and then the earlobe. And we look at each area in terms of the relative position and determine what type of procedure to do.
In your situation, I suspect the goal was to create an antihelical fold to help the upper part of the ear to the mid part get closer. Generally, a standard approach to this is called Mustarde sutures where from the back of the ear, the skin is elevated, and the cartilage is weakened in a variety of different methods based on the surgeon’s preference. Permanent sutures are used to create a fold from the back so the antihelical fold becomes created and defined.
Depending on your surgeon’s individual style, some like to make this more tight, so there is a certain amount of variability. One of the things that can be challenging about otoplasty has to do with the nature of the cartilage itself. Cartilage is a type of tissue which has memory, meaning as time goes on, there can be a little regression based on the original position of the cartilage prior to surgery. Sometimes, a surgeon will be tempted to overcorrect to try to compensate for that.
I suspect from the appearance of your photo that this overcorrection might have been aggressive. The fold may be a little more extended than what was intended. I think a little time will allow you to see where this is going to settle. If your surgeon wants to, and makes that decision possibly at the 3 week point, they may want to go back to either release or replace stitches, depending on what their assessment is. Every surgeon who does this procedure has experience that guides them on how they do these procedures. Sometimes, regardless of how good it looks during surgery, or immediately after surgery, you have to do enhancements which are part of the nature of cosmetic surgery.
It’s important you maintain this dialogue with your doctor. I suspect there is going to be some regression over the next couple of weeks. If this remains in this type of appearance, then some type of revision will probably be indicated at some point based on your surgeon’s comfort.  I hope that was helpful, I wish you the best of luck, and thank you for your question.This personalized video answer to your question is posted on RealSelf and on YouTube. To provide you with a personal and expert response, we use the image(s) you submitted on RealSelf in the video, but with respect to your privacy, we only show the body feature in question so you are not personally identifiable. If you prefer not to have your video question visible on YouTube, please contact us.