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  • A Surgical Alternative to Ear Pinning Can Fix Wide, Prominant Ears
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Dr. David Mabrie: Hello, I'm Dr. Mabrie and this video is about otoplasty surgery for prominent ears.

Most of us don't think about our ears often, but when they're prominent or far from the head, they become distracting from the rest of our face. Otoplasty surgery brings the ears closer to the head. The goal is not to pin the ears to the head but to achieve the optimal angle of 15 to 20 degrees from the head.

The cause of the prominent ears varies from patient to patient. If the cause is excess cartilage behind the ears, pushing the ears forward, then the method of otoplasty is to remove some of this excess cartilage.

Here's an illustration of how that's done. An incision is placed behind the ear, the excess cartilage is removed, and then sutures are placed which will pull the ear closer to the head in a more pleasing position.

In other patients, it's not the amount of cartilage but it's the shape of the cartilage. If the patients are missing a fold called the anti-helical fold, the ears can become flat and also become prominent. In these cases, the goal is to recreate or create an anti-helical fold which will bring the ears closer to the head.

Here's an illustration of how that's performed. Again, an incision is placed behind the ear. This time sutures are placed, creating a fold for the ear, and these sutures will pull the ear closer to the head. Here's a great example of an individual who on one side, his right side, actually had a nice anti-helical fold but on his left side he was missing this fold and the ear was flat and prominent.

Fred: I have lived with this my whole life, and since moving to a new state, kind of a new life, it's time to get the procedure done. With Dr. Mabrie, he's very personable, very experienced, and I really felt that connection that he was the doctor that's for me.

Dr. David Mabrie: Here he's shown after we have created a new anti-helical fold for him. On the side view, you can see that without this anti-helical fold, the ears are pointed out almost 90 degrees from the head, and as the fold has been created, the ears are brought back into a pleasing position. The incision is placed behind the ears, and after the ears are brought closer to the head, the incision is hidden.

Fred: He did it perfect. I didn't feel any pain during the entire procedure, and before you know it I was able to take the suture off and my new life began. I couldn't find a better doctor.

Dr. David Mabrie: Otoplasties are performed in our office with local anesthesia in an hour and a half. A headband type bandage is worn for two days.

I hope the video was helpful, and good luck in your search for information.

A Surgical Alternative to Ear Pinning Can Fix Wide, Prominant Ears

Dr. David Mabrie gives a video tutorial on otoplasty (ear) surgery for prominent ears. He discusses causes of prominent ears, includes 3-D illustrations of surgical techniques, shows before and after images, and discusses recovery.