What are the different types of cosmetic ear surgery?
Pinning, size and shape: which ear changes have their own procedure name
Cosmetic ear surgery is a broad term. Knowing which of those changes, pinning, size or shape, carries a separate procedure name helps you ask for the right one.
More than one ear procedure
Ear surgery covers more than one procedure, and the right one depends on what you want changed. The sources below list the options, and a surgeon can tell you which fits your ears.
Procedure names and what they change
Start with the overview of facial surgery procedures at the Cleveland Clinic, which places ear surgery among the other facial operations. The AAFPRS procedures list is another place to see the procedure names a facial plastic surgeon may use.
A procedure name matters less than what it changes and how long that change holds. For each type you read about, ask what is being reshaped, what keeps it in place, and whether the result can drift over time.
The society's advice on getting the most from a plastic surgery consult is a practical guide for the visit itself.
Matching your goal to a procedure name
- Describe what you want changed about your ears, in your own words.
- Ask the surgeon which procedure names apply to that goal.
- Ask how the result is expected to hold up over the years.
- Ask about recovery for the specific procedure.
Names from your surgeon, not the web
Use the procedure names from your surgeon, not only from the web, because the same operation can be named in different ways.