Over time, a pierced earlobe can become stretched due to oversized or heavy earrings, resulting in a large opening, or a tear completely through the lobe. Often, a torn earlobe can result from trauma, such as having an earring pulled by a child or after being caught on clothing. Whether you have a partial tear or a complete tear, Dr. Nirav Savalia can repair the torn earlobe to restore a smooth, natural contour to the ear.
Patients seek out Dr. Nirav Savalia for earlobe repair for some of the following reasons:
My specially developed surgical repair techniques create a smooth, uninterrupted earlobe contour for people who have a complete or partial tear or who want to repair stretched earlobes from gauges.
Dr. Savalia also focuses on the repair of stretched earlobes caused by wearing ear discs or “gauges.” Often, younger patients who wore these earrings for years need a way to repair the appearance of their ears so that they can improve their job prospects, enlist in the military, or move on to a new phase of life.
Patients will have a small bandage placed over the stitches and can return home immediately. The stitches must remain in for ten days following the procedure. Dr. Savalia will ask you to return to the office after a few months so that he can re-pierce your ears if needed, choosing the best location to avoid the risk of future stretching or tearing.
When the earlobes are significantly stretched out from disc-style earrings, it is not effective to simply trim the hanging skin and sew it back together. This approach will create a distorted earlobe that is long, thin, and pointy.
Instead, Dr. Savalia uses a z-plasty technique that stitches the earlobe back together in an overlapping pattern, creating a smooth edge. This approach leaves no scarring anywhere on the border of the earlobe for a more natural appearance. All scarring is within the body of the earlobe, where it is much less noticeable, especially as scars fade over time.
This procedure can be performed at Savalia Plastic Surgery in as little as 45 minutes, with local anesthesia. It is very common for the earlobe to be partially torn, split, or have a large, unsightly hole. Dr. Savalia can repair all of these issues.
During the procedure, Dr. Savalia will “freshen” the edges of the torn lobe by removing a small amount of skin. Then, using fine sutures such as those used in a facelift, he meticulously repairs the earlobe to reconstruct a normal, rounded shape with no notching.
