Ear piercings can elongate resulting in a damaged lobe that requires repair. There are several ways that this can occur.

  1. The weight of heavy earrings can pull the pierced hole downwards
  2. Trauma to the earlobe resulting in a vertical split can happen when a child or other individual inadvertently pulls on a dangling earring, tearing the tissue of the lobe.
  3. Inexpensive earrings, which sometimes contain nickel, can trigger an allergic reaction which exacerbates the skin around the hole.

Split Earlobe Repair in Los Angeles: How It Is Done

The procedure of repairing a split earlobe can be performed in the doctor’s office without need for hospitalization. Local anesthesia is used so that the patient does not experience severe pain.

The edges of the split are “refreshed.” This means that the physician uses a surgical tool to completely cut through the elongated split.

Once this is done, the edges are sutured together to restore the earlobe’s normal shape and contour. This involves restoration on three levels:

  1. Outer surface on the front of the earlobe
  2. The fatty tissue within the earlobe
  3. The skin behind the earlobe

Los Angeles physicians sometimes use antibiotics and pain killers in split earlobe repair procedures where this is deemed necessary. The procedure usually takes up to 1-2 hours.

While it might seem that repairing the earlobe simply requires stitches the edges together, there are a couple of challenges that need to be met in order to restore a normal cosmetic appearance:

  1. Some patients have larger sized earlobes that may need to be reduced in size
  2. In patients with smaller earlobes, there is the challenge of maintaining the size of the lobe while repairing the edges.

Split Earlobe Restoration Process After the Repair Procedure

Sutures must remain in place for about a week before they are removed. Many Los Angeles patients choose to continue wearing earrings after the split earlobe repair procedure. The earlobes can be pierced once again between 6-8 weeks following the repair. For safety reasons, It is important to use gold or platinum earrings, since these are pure metals and will not react with the surrounding tissue. These earrings must remain in place for two months.

Los Angeles Patient Before and After Split Earlobe Repair Procedure

This patient in Los Angeles sought help for the repair of her split earlobe. Here is a picture of her ear before the procedure.

Los Angeles Split Earlobe Repair|damaged lobe before surgery

Los Angeles patient with split earlobe requiring repair procedure*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The process of restoring her earlobe only took about half an hour. Here is a picture of her earlobe after the procedure.

Los Angeles split earlobe repair|final results on patient

Los Angeles patient after her split earlobe repair procedure.*

Typical Costs of Repairing Split Earlobes

Los Angeles split earlobe repair is relatively inexpensive compared to most cosmetic procedures.

Learn about another corrective cosmetic procedure.