NYC Torn Earlobe Repair | Manhattan Earlobe Plastic Surgery

Earlobe Repair in NYC

Ear lobe surgery is one of the most common ear plastic surgery procedures requested by New Yorkers. A person’s earlobes greatly impact the proportions and aesthetics of the face, as well as being an erogenous zone and a place to hang jewelry.

Earlobe reconstruction surgery can repair:

Saggy ear lobes from years of wearing heavy earrings
Unsightly ear lobes from improper piercing technique or infection
Natural congenital deformities in the shape and size of the earlobe
Traumatic injury to one or both ear lobes resulting in deformity or scarring
Enlarged holes from intentionally stretching or gauging the ears for fashion

Both men and women are seeking earlobe repair in growing numbers for a variety of reasons. For some, earlobe reconstruction is sought to improve physical appearance and self-esteem due to genetic deformity, sudden trauma or improper ear piercing. For others, the effects of “teenage rebellion” are corrected to meet with workplace standards and to enhance employability.

Check out earlobe surgery before and after photos to the right to see Dr. Preminger’s great results!

Before & After

Close-up view of two human ears after earlobe repair

Quick Facts

Procedure Length

1 hour

Anesthesia

Local, with sedation possible

In/Out Patient

Outpatient

Risks

Scarring, re-tearing of the lobe, blood clots, infection

Side Effects

Temporary pain, redness, swelling, numbness, itching

Recovery

Back at work or school in 2-3 days
Sutures removed in 1-2 weeks
Swelling should resolve in 1-2 weeks
Physical activity in 6 weeks
Resume earring wear in 6 months

Duration of Results

Results are typically permanent

Ear Lobe Surgery Preparation

Patients who are interested in earlobe repair will first visit Dr. Preminger’s Manhattan office. After filling out paperwork with details of general medical history and background, patients receive one-on-one consultation time with Dr. Preminger.

This meeting gives patients a chance to further assess Dr. Preminger’s credentials and have any questions about the procedure answered. Dr. Preminger will share photos and stories of realistic results that can be achieved through earlobe reconstruction surgery, as well as discuss the procedure, recovery and any associated risks.

The safety profile for this type of surgery is excellent, but ear lobe repair risks may include:

Scarring is possible with any incision, but risks can be managed with post-operative instructions.
Notching or uneven contours are possible with untrained or unskilled surgeons.
Re-tearing of the earlobe if new piercings are placed too soon or directly on the incision line.
Irritated, sensitive tissue is possible, but generally diminishes over time.
Sutures are used in this surgery, which may become infected if they are not cared for properly.

Earlobe Repair Procedure

The earlobe repair procedure is a fairly simple one, performed in Dr. Preminger’s office under local anesthesia. First, Dr. Preminger removes any overstretched or damaged skin. Next, the lobe is stitched back together with dissolvable stitches to form a natural shape.

Methods vary, but most surgeons use clamps and vertical mattress sutures to minimize the risk of notching. Lastly, the wounds are dressed with antibiotics and sometimes gauze (when extensive repairs have been done) that remain in place for several days to decrease risk of infection.

Earlobe Reduction Surgery

Dr. Preminger is adept at correcting the droopy, saggy appearance of ears that have been intentionally altered and cases where patients feel their lobes are unnaturally long or misshapen. Both earlobe blowout repair and stretched earlobe repair related to gauging and elongation practices are done in much the same way.

Dr. Preminger removes the very bottom portion of the damaged lobe and sutures a wedge of tissue back onto the bottom of the ear. Stretched ear lobe surgery options include pendulous lobes or earlobes attached to the cheek, depending on the look you prefer.

Split Earlobe Repair

Slightly ripped earlobe repair may involve just a few stitches and can often be re-pierced (if desired) on the same day as surgery. By contrast, fully torn earlobe repair will require removing the damaged ear piercing tract, suturing inner and outer layers of skin and fat tissue together, and waiting for the wound to heal before future piercings are considered.

Recovery from earlobe tear repair can be very fast or take several months for full healing, depending on extent of damage. As part of an earlobe hole repair procedure, Dr. Preminger may place a “temporary spacer” stitch to reserve a place for future earrings, which can be worn after about six weeks.

Ear Lobe Surgery Recovery

“Ear lobe surgery recovery is one of the easiest in the cosmetic surgery world,” explains Dr. Preminger. The ear lobes may feel a bit warm, but the discomfort is only mild and nearly everyone heals quickly without need for over-the-counter pain medication.

You can really go about your daily business within a day or so of your surgery. Most patients will experience a little bit of itchiness as the sutures heal. Stitches should dissolve on their own within a week or so.

"For some people, damaged earlobes can really hold them back in life. Patients with stretched ear lobes tell me they stay up at night thinking, 'Did I not get that job because of my ears?' But it's a problem that's so easy to fix, with little-to-no risk, and permanent results."
B. Aviva Preminger, MD

Earlobe Repair Cost

Earlobe repair is considered “cosmetic” and is not covered by medical insurance. However, the surgery may be more affordable than one presumes, especially considering the affordable payment plans put together by Dr. Preminger’s front office staff.

Factors that affect pricing include: extent of the damage, facility fee, surgeon fee, and anesthesia fee. A precise estimate will be given to all patients before any work is done so there are no surprises.

Earlobe Repair Results

Final results could take up to one year to be seen if there was really extensive damage. However, 96% of patients on the Real Self website give earlobe repair surgery a “Worth It” rating. Whether they are “not 15 anymore — 30 with 2 kids,” a “reformed hipster,” the victim of “incorrect piercing as a child” or a “business student in dire need of earlobe repair for future career,” nearly all of the 75 patients who had the procedure done within the last two years expressed satisfaction with their natural-looking results.

For more information on ear lobe repair options, including earlobe reduction surgery, please contact the Park Avenue Manhattan office of Dr. B. Aviva Preminger to schedule a private one-on-one consultation.

Video Transcription:

[Aviva Preminger, MD Plastic Surgeon] Most women have pierced ears and at some point, most women have struggled with earlobes that are causing problems wearing earrings and often it has to do with the fact that they’ve worn heavy earrings over time and the earlobes have gotten stretched. Sometimes it has to do with the fact that their lobes were pierced in the wrong location to begin with and then some women actually have a problem because they sleep with earrings and they get caught on their pillows at night and get torn and other women actually just have an issue because they’re wearing, for example diamond studs that they’re worried about losing and so they’re constantly pressing on the back of the earring to try to prevent losing them, but what’s happening is the pressure is actually causing a lot of pressure on the skin and the tissue of the earlobe and causing that earlobe piercing the hole to actually become wider and wider with time and so I have patients who come in who are actually losing earrings because of this or actually can’t wear earrings at all.

Other patients come in because they had gauges over time or really large piercings and the earlobes need to be reconstructed. So patients are often curious what’s involved in the actual procedure and what I tell patients is we can’t just sew the hole right back together because it would be like sewing your two fingers together, nothing would happen, you have intact skin and it just doesn’t heal. So what we have to actually do is numb up the earlobe, this can be done in the office, we excise or cut out both sides of the hole and then we actually repair the inside of the hole, the front, and the back of the hole so that the earlobe heals completely and then what I tell patients is that they have to wait six weeks to have the ears re-pierced.

I’m happy to re-pierce the ears for them, but that I recommend doing it in a different location so that it doesn’t tear through again.

Ear Lobe Repair

Is earlobe repair surgery right for you? Contact NYC cosmetic surgeon Dr. Preminger.