Otoplasty Corrects Prominent Ears

It's commonly thought a child will outgrow large or protruding ears, but the problem actually won't go away as he or she gets older.

"Parents often believe a child's prominent ears are cute or just part of a growth phase, and most assume that it's best to wait to correct them," said Dr. Samuel Stal, chief of plastic surgery at Texas Children's Hospital. "In our opinion, because prominence or protrusion of ears can adversely affect a child's self-image, it should be addressed early in his or her development."

By age 3, an otherwise normal child may develop abnormally shaped ears, either due to the ear's size or the angle of its protrusion. Because head growth lags behind the growth of the ear, the visual effect is heightened - the ear is disproportionately large relative to the size of the head.

"The ear assumes almost its full size by the age of 5 or 6, so what you see by that time is pretty much the size it will be when the child is an adult," said Dr. Stal. "At this age, plastic surgery of the ear (otoplasty) can successfully correct large or protruding ears."

Although the ear's primary function is to gather soundwaves to amplify them for passage down the auditory canal, it also plays a part in one's appearance. By the time a child reaches the preteen and teen years, large, protruding or malformed ears may have caused lowered self-esteem.

"Between ages 3 and 5, a plastic surgeon can perform a thorough analysis of the ear's size and protrusion to determine whether these fall within a normal range," said Dr. Stal. "This can give parents a good indication of whether the problem is a true deformity that calls for a correction with plastic surgery."

Surgical correction of prominent ears is usually a 90-minute outpatient procedure, producing minimal post-operative pain or complications.

For more information on plastic surgery at Texas Children's Hospital, call (832) 824-3180, or visit the hospital's Web site at http://www.texaschildrenshospital.org.

- Alison Bieser

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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