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POSTED UNDER Ear Surgery REVIEWS

Left Ear Otoplasty Gone Wrong in my Opinion

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Left Ear Otoplasty Gone Wrong in my Opinion

XHAKA123
Hello all, I had ear surgery on my left ear around April time last year
Basically what I want from this review is professionals and normal patients to confirm what I think, a poorly executed attempt at otoplasty has been done.
I’ve always wanted it done so looked around my home town and it was too expensive so I looked elsewhere which found me to an area near Manchester. I had back and forth emails with this doctors secretary and we agreed that I would come to the hospital have the consultation and the surgery on the same day due to the travelling requirements (not sure how legal that is btw).
So when I got to the hospital I was sent to a room which seemed like a recovery room and honestly was sat there for about 2 hours so this was initially a shocking start. Then my surgeon turns up and basically introduces himself etc starts asking just general questions not about the surgery. He then looks at the ear puts a red mark on it gives me some paper to sign says we’re just gonna make an anti helical fold basically as that’s what my left ear was lacking and then leaves the room and he was literally there for about 7 minutes.
So have in mind I’ve paid £200 for an hour consultation for him to closely examine my ear to see what needs to be done to it for a symmetrical look to the right ear and he’s there for about 7 minutes hardly examining both ears. Obviously I’m quite nervous at this point etc so don’t really have a clear mind to digest it like I am now.
30 mins later I’m taken up to surgery and have the surgery under local anaesthetic. After he’s finished he looks and says perfect. I’m wrapped up and taken downstairs to be discharged. Obviously I rest at home etc and then go back up to have my bandage taken off and stitches out etc and it still appears quite swollen. I take it as it comes and say to myself it should get better.
After a while the swelling eases off but the placement of the ear just does not seem right. As you’ll see from the pictures it looks like he’s completely gone too far on the top half of the ear with the anti helical fold producing a very abnormal look and has not taken the conchal bowl down to be similar to the right ear which has resulted in not a symmetrical look (I know it’s basically impossible to be completely symmetrical but at least give it a chance to be).
So I email my concerns and he tells me to come back up, so that’s another cost back up there and he basically just laughs it off and thinks they look the same and says this is a good result. I just genuinely couldn’t believe what was coming out of his mouth if he thought this was a good result.
So I really just want advice on what the next steps should be, these photos were taken about a week ago so healing is fully completed now and this is the final product. What I’ve done in the photos is what they look like and then with my fingers manipulating the ear to a position in which they should look like. Which would’ve happened if the anti helical fold was not so prominent and the conchal bowl was taken back slightly.
Please respond with advice on what you think and what the next steps should be.
Thank you
P.s will name the doctor once I have a clearer idea of what to do regarding a solution.

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Replies (14)

January 31, 2019
It would be good to see the before and after, but I think your ears look great now.
March 25, 2019
Hi can I ask which surgeon you saw please?
March 29, 2019
I dm’d you
May 23, 2019
Your ears look fine. Well within the range of reasonable. Before pics would help but if they were protruding as is likely, then this result seems good.
May 23, 2019
The right was not operated on and is in my opinion a perfect natural ear. The left ear was operated on and did not have an anti helical fold. It now has a crooked helical rum and looks unnatural. My left ear wasn’t that bad to start with, I just wanted it to be very similar to the right one which it had the potential to, as in the pictures with my fingers on my ear show the position they should be in to achieve good symmetry.
May 23, 2019
I think your ears look "normal". Many people have a little more stick out on one side than the other if that's what is concerning you. My recommendation would be to live with what you have for a year and then if it is still "bothering" you, find another surgeon for a "redo". Trust me, I've just had ear lobe surgery and it took two tries on one ear to get the look I was wanted. Good luck to you and thank you for sharing. Good luck and all the best, Elise
August 20, 2019
Hi there, thanks for the reply. I understand what you mean but i feel like it is crooked, if you see the top of the ear in pretty much every person the helical rim comes out of the head and follows a natural curvature whereas mine is like cracked. Can i ask did you get any money back for the first procedure or what is the process of compiling a real complaint.
August 20, 2019
I smiled about the "money back" question. No, I did not receive any money back from surgeon number one. I waited a few years and had a move from one city to another before addressing the ear issue for the second time. Even that surgeon had two goes at it before we were both very satisfied. But I do understand that when something is nagging at you and you know it can be fixed that you follow through. Just choose your second surgeon carefully. I had complete confidence in mine and knew that she would try to give me as close to perfection as a surgeon's hands can achieve. And she did. Good luck to you.
August 20, 2019
haha yes I was asking that question knowing the answer really, even though I feel like they should at least give us some of the money back. It's like buying a PS4 and it not working, yet we can return the ps4 but a very expensive operation we can't. We paid for a successful outcome and its their job to perform it i think. Yes I am going to email my first surgeon one my time to try and get through to him however i am probably wasting my time. I can literally get my desired position of the ear with slight manipulation with my fingers so I don't see why it can't be done in surgery. I thought i done my research very well with this one but clearly not... I should've asked more questions to be honest and showed exactly what i wanted, whereas i sort of put my faith in him to know what it should look like which has backfired massively. I literally explained in an email using all there right terms what i think he done wrong and he just brushed it aside. He has overdone the anti helical fold and not brought back the middle part of the ear which gives it a very asymmetrical look. He went so far with the anti helical fold it is very close to being classed as a deformity as when i use my fingers to go slightly more it produces the elf type look at the top of the ear. I just don't get why he did not analyse the good ear with more thoroughness and then it would've been much easier to make the ear look the same. i've basically got two completely different ears.
sorry for the long reply, i just need to vent is all