POSTED UNDER Ear Surgery REVIEWS
Ear Reconstruction Surgery - Paris, FR
ORIGINAL POST
On October 12, 2015 I was walking my dog down the...
StevenBachmanJuly 20, 2016
WORTH IT$8,500
On October 12, 2015 I was walking my dog down the street and he had gum stuck to the bottom of his foot. I bent down to remove it without letting him know what I was doing. He turned and snapped. Took off 1/3 of my ear.
Ear reconstruction surgery is not something that any plastic surgeon can do. Cartilage needs to be harvested from either your ribs or your other ear to be inserted into your damaged ear. There are only a handful of surgeons who do this surgery and most of them are either out of state or out of country. I consulted with 5 surgeons, in person, by phone, and by Skype. Most of them wanted to use rib cartilage for the reconstruction. This involved a 2 stage process. In the first stage, cartilage is harvested from your rib cage and your ear is reconstructed and then buried under your scalp. 4 months later your ear is separated from your scalp with a scalpel and skin graphs are used to put skin over the area that has been separated. A long, painful process to say the least.
After doing exhaustive research, I came across Dr. Francoise Firmin in Paris, France. Many of the surgeons I had consulted with had trained under her. She is the leading ear reconstruction surgeon in the world. She does over 300 surgeries annually. I consulted with her in Paris, France in December. She said she could do the surgery in 1 stage using cartilage from my other ear. I would not have to have my stomach muscles cut to get to my ribs and I would not have to spend 4 months with my ear buried under my scalp, or have skin graphs.
The surgery was performed 2 months ago in May, 2016. It went smoothly and I now have my ear back. See photos for dramatic before and after photos.
Ear reconstruction surgery is not something that any plastic surgeon can do. Cartilage needs to be harvested from either your ribs or your other ear to be inserted into your damaged ear. There are only a handful of surgeons who do this surgery and most of them are either out of state or out of country. I consulted with 5 surgeons, in person, by phone, and by Skype. Most of them wanted to use rib cartilage for the reconstruction. This involved a 2 stage process. In the first stage, cartilage is harvested from your rib cage and your ear is reconstructed and then buried under your scalp. 4 months later your ear is separated from your scalp with a scalpel and skin graphs are used to put skin over the area that has been separated. A long, painful process to say the least.
After doing exhaustive research, I came across Dr. Francoise Firmin in Paris, France. Many of the surgeons I had consulted with had trained under her. She is the leading ear reconstruction surgeon in the world. She does over 300 surgeries annually. I consulted with her in Paris, France in December. She said she could do the surgery in 1 stage using cartilage from my other ear. I would not have to have my stomach muscles cut to get to my ribs and I would not have to spend 4 months with my ear buried under my scalp, or have skin graphs.
The surgery was performed 2 months ago in May, 2016. It went smoothly and I now have my ear back. See photos for dramatic before and after photos.
Replies (10)
July 23, 2016
Good result, i see you done your homework, Francoise Firmin is arguably the best ear reconstruction surgeon in the world. I think well over 2000 ear reconstructions to her name
February 26, 2017
What was the cost of this surgery?
February 26, 2017
It looks natural, pretty impressive on your surgeon's work. It looks fantastic!
February 27, 2017
Good work, but seriously, you have a dog that startles so drastically it physically attacks you?
I'd rethink the dog. Just my opinion.
I'd rethink the dog. Just my opinion.
March 19, 2017
Need some advice.... My wife recently asked me if our kids will have the same protruding ears that I have. I did have otoplasty when I was 12. No one else in my family has protruding ears, including my father and brother. Is it possibly that my ears were caused as a birth defect and MIGHT not be genetic?? It seems most kids inherit their father's ears. Wondering what you all think! Considering my situation that my brother and father don't have protruding ears, maybe mine was a defect that won't be passed on? Honestly, I'm a little gun-shy to have kids because of this.... Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
I wouldn't want my kids to be bullied or need to go through surgery.
I wouldn't want my kids to be bullied or need to go through surgery.
UPDATED FROM StevenBachman
8 months post
Final ear photo at 8 months
StevenBachmanJanuary 13, 2017
Here is what my ear looks like at 8 months. All swelling is long gone. This is the final result.
Replies (16)
February 4, 2017
Are you happy? Can I PM you to ask who the other doctors you spoke to were? Do you need to speak french to work with Dr. Firmin? How did you find her contact info? And does she have a long wait list? I thought she only did microtia patients. Let me know if you see this message and I will PM you.
February 5, 2017
Your ear is beautiful. I am sorry your dog did not pull off the gum from his own foot, and chew that, instead of your ear. I once had a dog who chewed gum ... once, and for hours! Like I have always said, our bodies have many stories to tell. Only some are happy, but yours seems to be one. As a California resident, I have descended from a long line of French people: the first was a pharmacist in Paris in the 1600's. French Canadians descended from him. Here I am, in San Francisco, having descended into Hell. Just kidding. I think.
February 27, 2017
I had a similar situation, but mine happened when I was 8 years old, I am now 41. I have also researched. Your results look amazing. In have more questions for you, about down time, and doctor visits.
February 27, 2017
In my case, there was no downtime. In fact, I went out to dinner with my wife that evening. The surgery is about 2 hours when cartilage is harvested from your other ear. Expect a couple hours in recovery. Dr. Firmin wanted to meet with me for about a half an hour twice a week for 2 weeks post op. Stitches come out after 10 days.
October 13, 2017
Does the skin attach to the cartilage in 10 days and you can sleep on your pillow like normal and rub your ear and everything?
October 14, 2017
You can sleep on your ear immediately because you put padding over your ear and then wrap your head at night. To be quite honest it was about a week before I felt comfortable sleeping on that side.
October 14, 2017
It is just a strip of tape covering stitch line. Stitches come out after 10 days.
October 9, 2017
Very nice result!! I Would like to do my otoplasty revision with someone certified but im afraid. I got bad results from first time.
October 9, 2017
Francoise Firmin is one of the top ear surgeons in the world. She literally wrote the book on ear reconstruction surgery (Auricular reconstruction - $262.49 on Barnes and Noble or $289.99 on Target.com). She knows what she's doing!
October 15, 2017
Hello, would you mind sharing the email where you reached the doctor? I sent a request with pictures included on her website 2 weeks ago, but no one answered! Thank You so much
October 17, 2017
She only looks at her website once a month. For a faster response:
Françoise FIRMIN, M.D.
34 Avenue d'Eylau
75016 PARIS
France
Tel : 00 33 (1) 53 57 91 41
Assistante: Else STOKER
francoisefirmin@damma.org
Françoise FIRMIN, M.D.
34 Avenue d'Eylau
75016 PARIS
France
Tel : 00 33 (1) 53 57 91 41
Assistante: Else STOKER
francoisefirmin@damma.org
October 17, 2017
Dear Steven, I cannot thank You enough! Thank You for writing the review in the first place, it was through you first I heard about this lady and thank You for replying! Your ear looks fantastic! Best regards
UPDATED FROM StevenBachman
9 months post
Evening after surgery
StevenBachmanFebruary 27, 2017
No downtime. Here I am at a Parisian restaurant the evening after having the surgery.
Wow, amazing results, thank you for sharing your experience and your pics! I'm curious, did your ear need to heal completely before the reconstructive surgery?