Ear pinning surgery is one of the many procedures we perform here at Gainesville’s Accent Facial Plastic Surgery & Aesthetics, but unlike a number of our aesthetic procedures which are performed primarily on adults, ear pinning surgery is sometimes performed on children as well.
Whether you are a candidate for otoplasty (the medical name for ear pinning surgery) yourself or you are considering the procedure for your child, it is important to prepare both mentally and physically. If the patient is your child, though, he or she will need extra guidance from you throughout the process.
Ear Pinning Surgery Minimum Age
In general, we will not perform ear pinning surgery on patients younger than five years of age. Even if your child meets the minimum age requirements, though, your surgeon may still recommend delaying the procedure if your child’s ear cartilage has not yet fully stabilized.
Before bringing your child in for a consultation, prepare him or her for the fact that the surgeon will need to first determine if the procedure can take place. Make sure he or she knows that surgery is not yet a done deal.
Talk to Your Child about Otoplasty
If you are considering ear pinning surgery for your child, chances are he or she may have already been the object of teasing or bullying due to ear size. It may even have been your child who initiated the conversation in the first place.
If your son or daughter actively wants ear pinning surgery, then the discussion should be easier, but it’s still important that you impress upon your child that there will be pain during the recovery process, and that immediately following the surgery they will experience swelling and bruising. Make sure your child knows that there won’t yet be any obvious, visible results right after the procedure, and that it may be up to a week before he or she can see the new ear shape.
Also, if your child is on the younger end of the scale, emphasize how important it is that the incision sites be left alone to heal, and make sure that he or she knows that you will be cleaning the area regularly, and will require full cooperation.
Learn More About Ear Pinning
If you are considering ear pinning surgery for your child (or yourself), you can learn more about the procedure and how to prepare on our website.