When it comes to making a large ear smaller, I happen to be one of the few surgeons in the country who does this on a regular basis. This is termed macrotia surgery – also known as scapha reduction since the actual scapha is made to be smaller. Keep in mind this is totally unlike ear pinning, or otoplasty, surgery where the ear is essentially brought closer to the side of the head. Macrotia (scapha reduction) is intended to make the vertical dimension of the ear significantly smaller. Take a look at the video below, which gives you more of a visual idea of what macrotia (scapha reduction) surgery can do for you.

This is a visual case example showing how otoplasty surgery can help correct a prominent helical rim contour. This patient had otoplasty surgery to pin the ears back, but he was bothered by the fact his helical rim continued to stick out just a bit. This is actually not unusual when it comes to cosmetic ear surgery and otoplasty.

In order to address this problem, a procedure was performed under just local anesthesia. A short, summary video of the actual procedure is shown here. The touch up procedure involved making an incision along the inner margin of the helical rim to expose the offending cartilage segment. Once this was exposed, the cartilage was then trimmed off. The skin edges were then realigned and sutured together. The immediate intraoperative changes can be readily seen in the video where the contour of the helical rim is now much more vertical and less prominent as seen from the frontal view.

Before and after photos of the same patient are shown below where you can see, once again, how the helical rim is much improved in terms of the overall shape.

Here is another example of one of my patients who underwent scapha reduction, or macrotia, ear surgery. This is a very rare type of surgery currently only performed by less than a handful of plastic surgeons – but one that I perform on a fairly regular basis. Although this is often discussed as being part of otoplasty surgery – it is quite different than doing ear pinning surgery.  There are quite a few plastic surgeons who offer otoplasty surgery here in San Diego – but barely any that know about scapha ear reduction surgery.

This patient was bothered by how the upper portion of his ear was shaped. He felt as if the ear was too large because of what is termed the scapha region.

The scapha is the flatter portion of the ear that comprises the top 1/3 to 1/4 of the entire ear. This is indicated by the red crescent shadowing in the adjacent photo. When this is over developed – the ear can look too large for the patient. Some people refer to this as scapha enlargement. Others call it macrotia. And still others refer to this as a shell ear deformity.

Fortunately, there is a surgery that can help make the ears smaller in size – which is something that traditional otoplasty just doesn’t do for patients.

To learn more about this highly specialized otoplasty-type procedure offered by our San Diego office – use the following links below to visit our sister websites dedicated to this type of cosmetic ear surgery.

Ear Plastic Surgeon in San Diego

Macrotia Ear Reduction Surgeon in San Diego

Macrotia surgery is a specific type of cosmetic ear reshaping procedure that helps to reduce the size of one’s ear. Ear pinning is a completely different type of cosmetic ear surgery (otoplasty) that simple pulls the ear closer to the head and is much more commonly performed. Macrotia surgery involves actually making the size of the ear smaller – primarily focusing on reducing the upper half of the ear. This is a great example of a recent macrotia scapha reduction patient of mine showing what her ears looked like prior to the surgery and then what they looked like 10 days following surgery.

To learn more about macrotia ear reduction surgery in San Diego and to see her ongoing recovery, please use this link here to visit our sister site dedicated to ear reduction surgery.

To learn more about other types of otoplasty in San Diego – including ear pinning and scapha ear reduction surgery, visit our other sister site.

Can Dr. Hilinski actually make my ears shrink down in size? Yep! Take a look here at the most recent addition to his gallery of otoplasty surgery – which is more of a variant called macrotia, or scapha reduction surgery. This is a great example of how a highly trained otoplasty surgeon can take your ears from being too large (and prominent) to being just perfect in terms of size. After years and years of doing classic otoplasty (ear pinning), Dr. Hilinski began fully reshaping peoples’ ears to actually make them shrink down in size. Read more about this highly specialized type of otoplasty surgery as offered by one of San Diego’s best and most experienced cosmetic ear surgeons.

This photo example shows why Dr. Hilinski is considered San Diego’s premiere gauge earring defect repair expert. He has extensive knowledge and experience performing this operation and does so on a very regular basis. In fact, Dr. Hilinski is one of only a few plastic surgeons who has actually published a medical paper on the topic of gauge earring defect correction. Although many plastic surgeons perform this type of cosmetic ear surgery, many do so without being able to create a natural looking earlobe for the patient. This case example here is very representative of Dr. Hilinski’s amazing work in the area of gauge earring repair highlighting his ability to create natural looking earlobes.

Gauge Earring Repair

Shown here are this patient’s photos before surgery – where you can see a fairly extensive defect in the earlobe as a result of the gauge earrings worn for years. The middle photo shows his ear 1 week out from Dr. Hilinski’s correction – where you can still see the slight ridge where the sutures (stitches) were carefully placed. The shine you see in the photo is due to the ointment the patient was applying to the incision to keep it clean. On the right is the ear many months down the road as they have healed over time. What an incredible transformation for this young man as he closes the chapter on his gauge earrings. Once again he has essentially normal looking earlobes with almost no sign of ever having had gauge earrings!

Before Surgery

1 Week Out

Months Later

Here is a great case example of how an earlobe can be made smaller in size. However, this is not your typical enlarged earlobe.

When this patient first came to see San Diego’s #1 cosmetic ear specialist, Dr. John Hilinski, she simply wanted to have her earlobes made smaller in size. In a great majority of cases, this can be done rather simply (for a board certified plastic surgeon!) by removing the excess skin and soft tissue. But this is mainly done for patients who have a ‘hanging’ earlobe that is just too large.

In this particular case, her earlobes did not hang down off the side of the face. Rather, the earlobes were attached directly to the side of the face and they were elongated. Just take a look at the adjacent photo diagram that shows a very long earlobe – but the whole thing is attached to the face with no real dependent, or hanging, component.

So can an attached and elongated earlobe be made smaller in size with cosmetic ear surgery? Absolutely. Proof of that is shown here by Dr. Hilinski. Over the years, Dr. Hilinski has established himself as San Diego’s leading expert when it comes to plastic surgery of the ear – having performed more cosmetic ear surgery than essentially all plastic surgeons in the city. In addition, he performs a wider variety of cosmetic ear reshaping than nearly all of this peers. And this includes reshaping earlobes such as this where there is excess length (or height) in the setting of being attached to the face.

Earlobe Reduction

So how did Dr. Hilinski go about reshaping this enlarged earlobe? First, he reduced the amount of soft tissue by removing the excess from the bottom of the earlobe. In this manner, he was better able to conceal or camouflage the resulting scar. After all, there is no way of doing this type of surgery without creating a scar. But in most cases, this scar can be ‘hidden’ nicely from the naked eye. Second, he then had to tackle the issue of how the new, smaller earlobe would attach to the side of the face. This was done by creating a new attachment point and carefully suturing the skin edges together so that it looked nice and natural. As you can see, her new earlobe looks essentially like she could have been born like this – just without the elongated shape and size. And how much smaller are her new earlobes? Just take a closer look at her old piercings, which were not moved in the process. Based on this simple landmark, you can see that the earlobes are now considerably shorter. If you have elongated earlobes and desire smaller ones, don’t hesitate in contacting San Diego’s #1 expert in cosmetic ear reshaping, Dr. John Hilinski.

Here is yet another example of why Dr. Hilinski is considered San Diego’s leading otoplasty surgeon.

For many years now, Dr. Hilinski has been known as the best and most qualified plastic surgeon in San Diego performing cosmetic ear surgery. When he first came into practice in La Jolla, this mainly involved ear pinning, or otoplasty surgery. As his cosmetic surgery practice grew, Dr. Hilinski began doing more and more otoplasty surgery, which naturally attracted other patients looking to do even more reshaping of their ears. This ranged from earlobe reduction surgery to full blown ear reduction surgery (called macrotia). Fast forward many years and he has now established himself as the region’s #1 cosmetic ear surgery expert with patients flying in from all over the world to have surgery with Dr. Hilinski.

This most recent example demonstrates a very common complaint amongst patients – earlobes that are larger than desired. As you can see in the adjacent photo, her earlobes dangled down too low for her desires. This occurs from a genetic predisposition to having elongated, fleshy earlobes and/or wearing heavier earrings that pull the earlobes down too much. Regardless of the etiology, these patients are quite bothered by the longer earlobes and desire to have them shortened for cosmetic reasons.

This is precisely what was done in this patient with longer earlobes. Dr. Hilinski recommended reshaping of the earlobes to make them less heavy and less fleshy appearing. To be more specific, a segment of the soft tissue was removed and the edges of the earlobe were then stitched back together. The end result can be seen here in the photos shown below. As you can readily appreciate, her earlobes are now much smaller in size. And the earlobes are no longer hanging down as much as they once did. Most importantly, her earlobes still look quite natural in overall shape and size – thus avoiding the stigma associated with some patients whose ears literally look like they were operated on by a surgeon.

San Diego Otoplasty Expert

If you are unhappy with the shape and/or size of your ears, don’t hesitate to contact San Diego’s best otoplasty and cosmetic ear surgeon, Dr. John Hilinski, for a complimentary appointment.

Here is a case of cosmetic ear pinning, or otoplasty, where the results simply speak for themselves – and the result is just incredible!

This young lady came to Dr. Hilinski after doing online research and coming to the conclusion that he was considered the best cosmetic ear surgeon in San Diego. Her main concern was that her ears stuck out too far from the side of her head. In addition, like so many otoplasty patients seeking ear pinning surgery, her ears were very asymmetrical. This means that one ear – in her case, the left side – stuck out further than the other. This is readily appreciated in her preoperative photo shown here to the left. If her ears were simply made more symmetrical, that would take much of the unwanted attention away from the ears. But the fact of the matter was that the ears did stick out too far on both sides.

After close inspection and examination of her ears, Dr. Hilinski recommended cosmetic otoplasty surgery – most commonly referred to as ear pinning surgery. Over the past years, Dr. Hilinski has established himself as one of, if not, the best otoplasty surgeons in the entire region. In fact, patients come from all over the world – literally – to have Dr. Hilinski reshape their ears. This is because Dr. Hilinski does such a high volume of cosmetic ear surgery compared to most board certified plastic surgeons in practice today. Just take a look at his extensive online photo gallery showing amazing ear pinning results. Whereas most plastic surgeons can show you one or two real life examples of their otoplasty skill, Dr. Hilinski can show you case after case after case of fantastic ear pinning results. That is because he does so much more otoplasty than most plastic surgeons you will come across in your research. Don’t believe this? Go ahead and look online for yourself and you will quickly realize that Dr. Hilinski stands out amongst all plastic surgeons as a true expert and specialist in ear pinning surgery.

In this particular patient, Dr. Hilinski performed what he refers to as a preservation otoplasty procedure, or a subperichondrial otoplasty technique. This is a fancy medical term that simply designates the tissue plane that Dr. Hilinski utilized in reshaping her prominent ears. By using the subperichondrial plane to dissect and expose the ear cartilage, Dr. Hilinski was better able to pin her ears back with much more accuracy and assurance versus the tissue plane most often used by other plastic surgeons. All of this was done from behind the ear where careful cartilage excision and suture placement allowed Dr. Hilinski to set her ears back closer to the side of the head. The entire surgery took about 2 hours to perform and was done under just local anesthesia where she was awake. Once the numbing medication was injected around the ear, the patient felt no pain at all. Like all of our otoplasty ear pinning patients, she wore a compression wrap around the head for about 4-5 days during the initial healing period. Thereafter, she just wore a bandage at night time while sleeping for upwards of 4-6 weeks after the ear pinning.

Results of her otoplasty surgery are shown below – several months out from the operation. As you can readily see, she has incredible results with a marked transformation of her overly prominent ears. Her ears are now (1) definitely closer to the side of her head with much less prominence as seen from the frontal angle and (2) significantly more symmetrical now with both ears looking pretty darn close to one another.

If you have prominent ears that stick out too far – and you desire to have your ears pinned back – come see San Diego’s leading expert in otoplasty surgery, Dr. John Hilinski.

Who does more otoplasty, or ear pinning, than any other facial plastic surgeon in San Diego? Our guess is that Dr. John Hilinski performs ear pinning surgery more frequently than all other plastic surgeons here in town. If you look, for example, at his online photo gallery of otoplasty results, you will find that Dr. Hilinski has more real-life examples of ear pinning compared with most doctors in San Diego.

Here is just one of those phenomenal results. This young lady presented with a chief complaint of having ears that were simply too prominent for her face. When Dr. Hilinski examined her, he quickly noted that her ears just stuck out too far from the side of her head. Although Dr. Hilinski also performs a lot of macrotia ear reduction surgery, that was not the issue in this particular patient. She was recommended to undergo cosmetic ear pinning so that her ears could be folded back – and in the process become less obvious.

The otoplasty was done under straight local anesthesia – meaning, just an injection of numbing medication so that she could not feel any pain. Going from behind the ears, Dr. Hilinski was able to pin the ears back closer to the side of the head. The whole surgery took about 2 hours. She was instructed to wear a bandage for about 4-5 days continuously and then was recommended to wear an athletic sweatband at night for about 6 weeks.

Her actual surgical results are shown below – which visually demonstrate a beautiful and natural looking otoplasty outcome. Her ears are now clearly much closer to the side of her head and no longer stick out excessively. Yet, she looks like she could have been born this way – with ears that are smaller looking and less prominent. If you have ears that stick out too far and you desire cosmetic ear surgery – contact one of San Diego’s best ear pinning experts – Dr. John Hilinski – right now!

As someone who sees patients quite regularly for surgical correction of big ears, I have heard from several patients saying they were using Otostick to help make their ears look less prominent. So what is Otostick? And is this a long-term option for patients with ears that stick out too far?

Otostick is basically an over-the-counter device that was designed to give patients a non-surgical option to pin their ears back closer to the side of the head. It uses a combination of silicone and adhesive to allow users to fold the ear back and keep it in place when out in the public eye. If you search for the product online, you will discover several Youtube testimonial videos discussing use of Otostick. The bottom line is that Otostick is a nice option for people who are insecure about their big ears and want to do something short of otoplasty surgery, or ear pinning. In essence, you will be using an adhesive to stick them back for whatever period you are wearing them out and about. Unfortunately, as with most adhesive products, they are not designed or intended to withstand all conditions, such as going in the water. Some folks have been able to wear them during vigorous activity and exercise, but there is the risk of having them fall off in the midst of doing these things. Other circumstances, like being in the military, will also prevent people from using Otostick on a daily basis.

Is Otostick permanent? Well, for really young kids, there is some evidence that constantly taping an ear back can lead to long-term reshaping and repositioning. But for adults, Otostick won’t really do anything to help permanently reshape the ear. The reality is that surgery is the only true option for permanent pinning of the ear and reduction of prominence.

So now you are in the know regarding Otostick and how it fits into the spectrum of treatment options for people suffering from overly prominent ears!

We get many patient inquiries about having just one ear pinned back. There are quite a few patients out there who are bothered by one ear sticking out – while the other is totally normal looking. That is just the case here where this male patient had one ear – his left side – that just stuck out along the top half. He was happy with the position and shape of his right ear. So Dr. Hilinski performed ear pinning on just one side to create much needed symmetry. Take a look at this short video showing the intraoperative transformation as a new fold was created on his left side.

Ear Pinning On Just One Side

Did you know that Dr. Hilinski performs more otoplasty, or ear pinning surgery, than most plastic surgeons in practice? In fact, we would go so far as to say that he does more cosmetic ear surgery than any other plastic surgeon here in San Diego. Testimony to this is his incredibly vast photo gallery of amazing ear pinning results. Just take a look for yourself and you see that he has example after example of otoplasty patients that he has operated on over the years.

The latest success story involves this young girl whose parents brought her to Dr. Hilinski because of her prominent ears. Simply put, they thought her ears stuck out too far and desired to have them pinned back to appear less prominent.

That is precisely what Dr. Hilinski did in this case – he performed cosmetic ear pinning surgery to bend the ear structure back closer to the side of her head. In doing so, he had to remove some of her excessive cartilage in combination with making her ear fold more defined.

Before and After Ear Pinning

The results of her surgery after 4 months are shown here. As you can see, her ears are no longer as prominent and look very natural positioned on the side of her head. And you can see just a hint through the pixelation that she is now smiling!

Lop ear deformity is a condition that results from abnormal development of the top portion of the ear. It is also commonly referred to as a constricted ear or cup ear deformity. 

The hallmark of a lop ear deformity is a helical rim (the top border of the ear) that is folded over. This can be mild in some cases or rather severe in others. When the segment of the ear just inside of the helical rim, called the scapha, is involved, the top one-third of the ear can appear even more abnormal. In this instance, the ear can appear to be more compressed from the top, leading to the term constricted ear deformity. In short, any of these lop ear deformities make the ear look too short in a vertical direction. 

Lop Ear Correction

Any attempt at correcting the lop ear will involve some method of making the ear more vertical in height, or taller. 

If lop ear is addressed during infancy, it can frequently be done successfully with non-surgical ear molding options. Once the ear has grown, though, it requires true surgical reshaping to make it look more normal. 

Surgical repair of lop ear varies depending on the underlying deformity. In nearly all cases, the top portion of the ear has to be completely reshaped by strategic reorientation of the abnormal cartilage framework of the ear. In some cases, additional cartilage has to be taken from somewhere else in order to have sufficient ‘building material’ to properly reconstruct the ear. 

Expertise in Lop Ear Repair

So often you will see plastic surgeons online touting their expertise in managing and treating lop ear deformity. But when you look at their websites, you realize they are simply doing otoplasty, or ear pinning, surgery – and not true correction of a lop ear. The reality is that there are very few plastic surgeons out there – like Dr. Hilinski – who have dedicated experience in correcting the lop ear deformity and can show you actual photos of their own patients. 

Lop Ear Correction Photos

Here are some select examples of how Dr. Hilinski was able to correct the lop ear deformity.

The post Lop Ear first appeared on Dr. Hilinski.

Can Dr. Hilinski actually make my ears shrink down in size? Yep! Take a look here at the most recent addition to his gallery of otoplasty surgery – which is more of a variant called macrotia, or scapha reduction surgery. This is a great example of how a highly trained otoplasty surgeon can take your ears from being too large (and prominent) to being just perfect in terms of size.

Source

This photo example shows why Dr. Hilinski is considered San Diego’s premiere gauge earring defect repair expert. He has extensive knowledge and experience performing this operation and does so on a very regular basis. In fact, Dr. Hilinski is one of only a few plastic surgeons who has actually published a medical paper on the topic of gauge earring defect correction. Although many plastic surgeons…

Source

Here is a great case example of how an earlobe can be made smaller in size. However, this is not your typical enlarged earlobe. When this patient first came to see San Diego’s #1 cosmetic ear specialist, Dr. John Hilinski, she simply wanted to have her earlobes made smaller in size. In a great majority of cases, this can be done rather simply (for a board certified plastic surgeon!

Source

Here is yet another example of why Dr. Hilinski is considered San Diego’s leading otoplasty surgeon. For many years now, Dr. Hilinski has been known as the best and most qualified plastic surgeon in San Diego performing cosmetic ear surgery. When he first came into practice in La Jolla, this mainly involved ear pinning, or otoplasty surgery. As his cosmetic surgery practice grew, Dr.

Source

Here is a case of cosmetic ear pinning, or otoplasty, where the results simply speak for themselves – and the result is just incredible! This young lady came to Dr. Hilinski after doing online research and coming to the conclusion that he was considered the best cosmetic ear surgeon in San Diego. Her main concern was that her ears stuck out too far from the side of her head. In addition…

Source

Who does more otoplasty, or ear pinning, than any other facial plastic surgeon in San Diego? Our guess is that Dr. John Hilinski performs ear pinning surgery more frequently than all other plastic surgeons here in town. If you look, for example, at his online photo gallery of otoplasty results, you will find that Dr. Hilinski has more real-life examples of ear pinning compared with most doctors in…

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