Excess skin after ear surgery? (Photo)

Question

Hello, I had my ears pinned back in early January this year. So far I am very happy with my results but I have a little mass of "something" which might either be skin or cartilage within each of my ears. Not that this is real discomfort but I was wondering if this would ultimately go away over time so I could wear by headphones again.

Leila Kasrai, MD, FRCSC · Answer

You may want to go back to your surgeon to discuss this issue. The excess skin, particularly in the first photo, would most likely need to be removed with surgery. The second photo shows more swelling, which may improve on its own with recovery.

Jacob Tower, MD · Answer

Hello, hope you are well. It appears your otoplasty involved some cartilage removal, and there is now excess skin within the conchal bowl. Very often a minor amount of skin/soft tissue redundancy will settle and smooth out during the healing process. This may be the case with the ear in the second photo. The ear in the first photo may require a small revision procedure to excise the extra skin so that it can heal flat. I would encourage you to follow-up with your surgeon and ask for their expectations.

Best,
Dr. Tower

Best,
Dr. Tower

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Excess skin after ear surgery? (Photo)

Answers (2)

EAR SURGERY PROVIDERS NEAR YOU