Scarless otoplasty is a minimally invasive technique, which means you can now have surgical treatment of your protruding ear within 30 minutes and be back at work after lunch without any dressing or bandage.

This technique is suitable for adults who have protruding ears due to lack of normal cartilage fold in their ears. This procedure is not suitable for patients who also have excess cartilage in the ear bowl.

• Carried out under local anaesthesia.
• No scar and no skin stitches.
• Can be done within 30 minutes.
• No dressing, no head bandages.
• You can see and control the degree of ear resetting
• You can resume normal activity within an hour of walking in for the procedure.

You will need to book a video or in-person consultation for clinical assessment, suitability and to understand the procedure.

During the actual procedure, the skin of your ear is cleaned and sterilised and precise points where stitches are required to create a fold in the ear cartilage is marked. This is followed by local anaesthetic injection to numb the front and back of the ear. 

Subsequently, special stitches, usually 3 – 4, are placed at the designated area and hidden under the skin. Results are visible immediately and if preferred, the degree of ear repositioning can be altered before the stitches are tied in place. 

Once you are happy with the new ear position, antiseptic skin ointment is applied, and the procedure is complete. It is rare to require dressing or bandage at the end and you are free to resume normal activity.

• It is important that you avoid pulling or tugging the ear to minimise the risk of stitches cutting through the ear cartilage.

• Please keep the ear clean and apply the provided antiseptic skin ointment for a week.

• If required, you can take over-the-counter painkillers e.g. Paracetamol or Ibuprofen for pain relief.

• You can use soap/shampoo or water to clean the ear gently after 24 hours.

• There are no restrictions on normal activity as long as care is taken to avoid pulling or tugging on the ears.

Like any other surgical procedure, bleeding and/or infection is a rare risk. The stitches used to fold the ear cartilage can cause irritation, pain, and in rare instances, extrude through the skin. If that were to occur, it is a simple process to remove and replace them with new stitches.

This procedure is not suitable for patients who have a normal ear cartilage fold, and the excessive ear protrusion is due to extra cartilage in the concha bowl. For these patients, a Classical Otoplasty is more suitable and you can read about this by clicking here.

As we offer Classical Otoplasty under local anaesthetic using a minimally invasive technique, almost all patients are able to resume normal activity the day after the procedure without the need to wear a head bandage.