Suture removed 11 years after ear pinning.

My ears protruded, so my parents had them fixed when I was 7. For the past few years, I've had an infection every now and then behind my ear due to one stitch. I am unsure whether this was a subcutaneous stitch that poked through my skin, or a dissolvable stitch that didn't dissolve. I had the stitch removed, and my ear now slightly protrudes. Is this normal? I have read that the cartilage should retain its shape even if a permanent stitch is removed, so why is my ear protruding?