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*Treatment results may vary
Evening after surgery
No downtime. Here I am at a Parisian restaurant the evening after having the surgery.
Final ear photo at 8 months
Here is what my ear looks like at 8 months. All swelling is long gone. This is the final result.
On October 12, 2015 I was walking my dog down the...
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.
Provider Review
Dr. Francoise Firmin