Can Otoplasty Be Performed on a 10-Year-Old Child?

Otoplasty can be done on children as early as 5 years of age.  I recommend doing this procedure for children as soon as possible once it is determined that the child is being affected by the prominent ears.  If a girl refuses to wear her hair up OR a boy insists on long hair to cover the ears, parents may want to discuss the child's concerns.  Avoiding psycosocial trauma (for example, teasing) is important at this age.

Otoplasty (ear surgery) sometimes referred to as ear pinning, is one of the few cosmetic plastic surgery procedure performed on children. The rationale is that the ear reaches nearly adult size at an early age, and early intervention reduces the appearance of prominent before school age teasing occurs.

There are two peaks in the age of intervention. The first is around age 5 to 6, and the second is in early adulthood. The timing depends on social situations and physical characteristics. Whatever the age, it is important that the appearance of the ears bothers the recipient of the surgery, and that they understand what is being done and why.