Earlobe Repair in Newport Beach and Beverly Hills

Earlobe Keloid Scars

Keloids are raised scars that can be red, brown or tan in color. By definition, keloid scars spread beyond the area that was initially injured, whereas hypertrophic scars are limited to the injury site. They can occur in the earlobe when a person has piercings in the earlobe or has suffered an injury such as a pimple.

Keloid scars are common in individuals with dark skin, but are seen in all skin types. In order to treat these scars, Dr. Batniji performs an excision and then injects the area with steroid. Keloids do have a high rate of recurrence, therefore, subsequent treatments with steroid injection may be of benefit. Dr. Batniji performs excision of earlobe keloid scars under local anesthesia. The healing time is short — one week — and patients typically do not need to take any time off work or daily activities, but they may need to return to Dr. Batniji for removal of stitches one week after the procedure.

The body has its own natural healing processes. Keloid scars are just an extreme symptom of this process. The best way to reverse these scars in the Orange County/Newport Beach area is to see a licensed Newport Beach facial plastic surgeon. Only plastic surgeons have the experience and training necessary to repair Keloid scars in the earlobe.

Earlobe Reduction

Like all body parts, earlobes come in all shapes and sizes. That includes overly large lobes. While this is of no medical concern, it can cause embarrassment. Some individuals will go to great lengths to cover overly large earlobes with their hair or hats. Individuals in the Newport Beach area can come see Dr. Batniji to have their earlobes reduced.

In order to reduce large earlobes to a comfortable size, both the structure of the ear and the goals of the patient are taken into account. The main goal is to have earlobes that appear natural. The procedure for reducing earlobes takes approximately 1 hour and is conducted with local anesthesia. Post operative healing takes approximately one week and pain, if any, is well tolerated/controlled with over-the-counter medication or prescription-strength pain medication.

Gauged Earlobe Repair

Piercings are a decorative body modification that has existed for millennia. For some time now, people have been gauging earlobe piercings. In other words, they stretch the holes in their earlobes so they can fit round spacers in their ears. Cosmetically, this elongates the lobe and leaves a large hole in it and can result in damage to the earlobe. The tissue becomes thin and distorted. Unfortunately, some piercings destroy the tissues, causing irreparable harm. In other cases, the damage can be repaired.

Fixing earlobes that have been damaged by spacers can be challenging. Orange County residents turn to a Newport Beach facial plastic surgeon who then uses his expertise to devise a strategy for fixing the earlobes. Experience in the various methods used to reconstruct gauged earlobes is increasing with the popularity of this very old body modification technique.

There are several reasons to have gauged earlobes repaired, not all of which are cosmetic. Finding a job in some industries with such piercings may be challenging, especially when they are a safety or health hazard. The appearance of such piercings is unacceptable on women in the military while even a small piercing is unacceptable on men. The procedure can take more than four hours and post operative healing will require one or two days of rest. However, the stitches are out within a week.

Stretched Hole Earlobe Repair

Similar to gauged earlobes are stretched earlobe holes. This happens when the earlobe is weighed down by particularly heavy earrings or when earrings are pulled when they catch on things. In some cases, the piercing stretches so much that an earring will not stay in the hole. This can result in expensive loss of earrings and embarrassment.

The ideal way to fix stretched earlobe holes is to close the piercing completely. It is possible to attempt re-piercing for those who wish to have their earlobes pierced again. Operations to close the piercing take less than one hour per ear and will heal in roughly one week. The pain is such that over the counter pain medication is sufficient to control it after the surgery. In other words, there is very little pain. Dr. Batniji advises his patients to wait approximately 1 month after repair to have the ears re-pierced.

Earlobe Shortening

Some earlobes are longer than one would like. They may cause self-consciousness whether they are caused by genetics or stretching from heavy ear jewelry. In order to fix this problem, excision is done under local anesthesia. The ear is then re-shaped to a natural shape and size. Of course, symmetry is taken into account and great pains are taken to ensure that both lobes are similar in appearance.

This procedure results in only minimal pain over a period of two or three days. A non-prescription pain medication can be taken to control this. Earlobe shortening does not require time to rest from work or daily activities.

Split Earlobe Repair

Another complication caused by heavy earrings or earring pulls is split earlobes. Heavy earrings or accidental pulls on earrings can result in an elongation of the piercing site. The small post or hook that enters the ear can gradually slice downward on the piercing causing it to become slit shaped. This can result in a partial split earlobe, which is essentially a long, thing piercing, or it can result in a full split, which pulls through the bottom of the earlobe.

The procedure to correct split earlobes is performed under local anesthesia and takes approximately 1 hour. Dr. Batniji removes stitches one week after the procedure and the ears can be re-pierced one month after the procedure.

Multiple Split Earlobe Repair

Since many people have multiple piercings in their ears, multiple splits are more likely. If heavy earrings are worn up the ear, there can be two or more split earlobes on one side. The procedure to fix these splits is the same as it would be on an earlobe with one split. However, piercings and slits that were too close together increase the likelihood of surgical scarring. There is an option to do one split at a time when they are close together so the doctor can address any issues.

Split repair takes less than one hour per ear. There is no need to take time off from usual activities, but a follow up for suture removal is required. It is usually done about a week from the date of surgery.

Closure of Earlobe Holes

Small puncture wounds, such as that made by an earlobe piercing, typically heal with nary a mark on their own. However, earlobe piercings differ from most puncture wounds in that the wound is kept open until it scars and beyond. The body does not get the opportunity to heal the hole. In fact, it will grow skin on the inside of the hole so it eventually will not even try to close the hole. There is no way for the body to heal the wound because it is no longer a wound. Like all exposed parts of the body, a piercing hole that has healed will not result in skin growing into skin.

To close earlobe holes, a plastic surgeon has to reverse this process. The skin on the inside of the piercing is carefully removed so the wound can finally heal. It is a simple procedure that results in no time off normal activities and minimal pain. The same goes for multiple piercing closures. Of course, if they are very close together, they may need to be handled at separate appointments.