Earlobe Repair Surgery

The Consultation

The first stage of your earlobe repair journey will be a consultation with one of our expert surgeons.
At your consultation, your surgeon will go through the earlobe repair procedure in detail and examine the area.

Your surgeon will then discuss:

• Your medical history
• Your expectations from surgery
• Risks and Complications
• Aftercare

Following your consultation, you will be introduced to your dedicated patient coordinator who will be your point of contact should you wish to proceed with earlobe repair surgery.

Pre-Operative Advice

In the interests of patient safety, all our patients are assessed against our patient selection criteria. Following your consultation and review of your past medical history, the physician or preoperative nurse will choose any pre-operative tests considered to be appropriate, most of which are routine blood tests.

The Earlobe Repair procedure

The technique used for your Earlobe repair will depend on the state of your lobes and your desired results. It’s a fairly straightforward procedure that can be done in any of our in-house theatres under local anaesthetic. The procedure takes 20-40 minutes to perform.

• The split area of the earlobe is marked out to be removed as a wedge.
• Local anaesthetic is injected to numb the area and the earlobe will usually stay numb for around 3 to 4 hours following the procedure.
• The split section of the lobe is carefully cut out.
• The wound is then cauterised to stop any bleeding.
• The two sides of the earlobe are then brought together and secured with absorbable stitches.
• A dressing is applied to the wound and will stay for around a week.

A rotational flap earlobe repair is a technique which preserves the existing ear-piercing hole. This allows patients to be able to safely wear earrings again just two weeks after their procedure instead of having to wait 6 months.

Earlobe Reduction

If your lobes are sagging, then an earlobe reduction will be the best way to reshape them and make them more proportionate, whereas if they’ve been torn then they can be stitched up and amended as well.

Tribal Earlobe Reconstruction

For patients with stretched lobes, there are a couple of options. A hole with a small diameter could require only a few stitches. If you’ve stretched your lobes beyond 1.5cm in diameter, they won’t be able to spring back to their original shape and may require the excess flesh to be trimmed before they can be reshaped. Find out more about Stretched or Tribal Earlobe repair here.

After your Earlobe Repair Procedure

The procedure is performed under local anaesthetic, and there’s very little downtime involved.

Following your procedure, we recommend that you have a friend or family member drive you home. This is because the side effects of local anaesthetic can vary from person to person and your ability to drive may be affected.

Most patients are okay to return to work the day after their procedure. Post-procedure pain may be uncomfortable for up to 2 days post-procedure, we advise over-the-counter painkillers such as paracetamol to manage this.

The area should be kept dry for 48 hours following surgery.

Exercise should be avoided for 2-3 weeks as it can increase your risk of wound separation and infection. Light gentle exercises can be returned to in the days following your procedure as you feel comfortable to do so.

Your surgeon will advise you on scar management and how best to care for your incision.

Earlobes should not be pierced for at least 3 months following earlobe repair surgery unless using the rotational flap technique. When wearing earrings following earlobe repair, it is recommended that heavy earrings are only worn 6 months following your procedure and only for short periods as the scar will still be weak and could be prone to tearing again.