Is my doctor wrong about not wearing a headband after ear pinning? (Photo)

Question

Everywhere I read that your supposed to wear a head band or compression band at some point after having your ears pinned back, my doctor says no don't worry about it you don't need it its fine; I'm very concerned and my ears are very swollen

James Chan, MD · Answer

The decision to wear or not wear a band after surgery depends on your surgeon and the specifics of your surgery.I often have patient's wear a band or head wrap of some kind for 1 week after surgery, however I have done ear surgery on patient's that did not need it.It really depends on the extent of the procedure and the specifics of the surgery.Talk to your surgeon about this if you have questions.

Manish H. Shah, MD, FACS · Answer

Hello blah in dc,Thanks for your question.The reason for wearing the headband is that it helps protect the pinned ears from being pulled forward and breaking their sutures.  It helps take the tension to unbend off the ears so that they can de-swell and soften in a protected state.Your ears have some bruising and swelling that is normal.  Because you had additional facial surgery, the blood supply to heal your otoplasty is a little more reduced than normal.  Icing and head of bed elevation will help reduce the bruising and swelling.  This will move your healing along.I'm sure your surgeon has their particular technique for post-otoplasty care, so I would follow their lead and trust them.Good luck in your recovery.Dr. Shah

Amiya Prasad, MD · Answer

Thank you for your question. You’d like to know if your doctor was incorrect for not advising you to wear a headband after otoplasty surgery, in spite of the fact that other doctors recommend it. You’re also concerned about the swelling of your ears.I can guide you on this matter as otoplasty is a part of my practice and I do have some opinions on how I approach prominent ears. I’m a Board-certified cosmetic surgeon and a Fellowship-trained oculofacial plastic and reconstructive surgeon, practicing in Manhattan and Long Island for over 20 years.My initial observation is that you also have stitches from a facelift, which means you had both a facelift and otoplasty surgery done at the same time. To help give you a better understanding of otoplasty from a surgical perspective, in this procedure, you’re dealing with two types of tissues—one is a hypertrophic or enlarged conchal bowl which is the central part of the ear, and the other is the absence of a defined antihelical fold which is the upper part of the ear.When there is a hypertrophic or thick conchal bowl, the sutures are used to pull the ear inward, or to do a resection of cartilage, then suture the cartilage to the fascia or the mastoid fascia against the neck towards the skull. With regard to the antihelical fold, what most doctors do is a variation of something called a mastoid procedure, which involves weakening the cartilage and using some type of horizontal mattress sutures, which is a technical term. In this procedure, there’s basically folding from the inside of the ear, so that it’s closer to the head, thus creating that fold.It’s not surprising you have a fair amount of swelling, considering you had both the facelift and otoplasty done at the same time.  In my practice, I routinely use headbands after otoplasty, however it is not routine for me to perform otoplasty at the same time as a facelift, as it does not seem to be something that people want when they have face lifting. Most of our patients who come in for a facelift are women, and most of the time, they wear their hair long, thus making prominent ears a non-issue.What is important here is that your doctor’s judgment on how much support and splinting is necessary. I would suspect that your doctor was concerned that having you wear a headband may put too much pressure on the area, and might cause a fracturing of the cartilage in a way that would be undesirable. In addition to this, because your ears appear to be in a good position relative to your head, your doctor probably felt comfortable leaving them as is without adding more pressure. There could be some other facelift related reasons for this, as well.That said, I think it is unfortunate that you feel you want to question whether your doctor was right or wrong based on this instance. I think that if you trusted your doctor to perform your facelift and otoplasty, I can’t see why there would be any doubt that your doctor would somehow not guide you properly in the aftercare process. In medicine, it’s always about judgement, and rarely is any scenario ever just black or white—there is a lot of gray, and much of that comes from the experience and clinical practice in medicine.In your case, it is likely that you already had some type of bandage from the facelift that could’ve helped support the splinting which is a benefit after otoplasty. After your sutures are removed, and after observing how the ear looks, your doctor may want to recommend that you wear a headband to try to protect and add some pressure to the area to maintain its appearance.I certainly wouldn’t abandon faith and question the doctor’s competence for not having you wear a headband, as there could be several reasons for this. I suggest that you meet with your doctor and discuss this issue. Once you hear an explanation, you may feel more satisfied or comfortable with why the choice was made. This is why I spend a lot of time talking and discussing things with patients. I feel that adult education is based on repetition—you can’t say things often enough. You also have to space the information apart for it to effectively take hold, which is why we welcome our patients to ask us questions as often as they need to.I suggest that you speak with your doctor and find out the reasoning behind this decision. As time goes on, you’ll get an understanding, and hopefully things will work out in the way you hoped. I hope that was helpful and I wish you the best of luck!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.

Is my doctor wrong about not wearing a headband after ear pinning? (Photo)

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Is my doctor wrong about not wearing a headband after ear pinning? (Photo)

Answers (3)

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Everything you need to know about Ear Surgery

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