Earlobe repair surgery is becoming more common as patients are seeking out cosmetic surgeons to reverse gauging, a procedure where the earlobes are deliberately stretched and widened. The surgery is being requested by patients who regret having their lobes stretched, reports msnbc.com.
Dr. Angelo Cuzalina, president-elect of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, says that those who are looking for new jobs and going on job interviews often want the surgery.
“It’s almost becoming a fad. People have the gauging procedure where they gradually stretch out their lobe so it has a giant hole that’s larger than a quarter. But then they want to join the workforce and think their chances for a job might be better if they didn’t have this,” he says.
Dr. Brian Glatt, a plastic surgeon, agrees, saying that he is seeing more patients who gauged their ears as teens but are now outgrowing the trend.
Dr. Patrick Carney performs the surgery using a local anesthetic; he removes any skin surrounding the split to create a clean edge and then stitches the ear back together. Sutures will be put into the lobe and removed within a week.
While patients can expect some scarring, says Dr. Cuzalina, patients should be able to wear regular earrings again after a few months, if desired.
“It’s not a really painful operation to have done, but you may never get the lobe back to its original shape,” Dr. Cuzalina says. “But more people are doing it. It usually takes some change in a person’s life to force them to come in and get the surgery.”
Dr. Carney performs earlobe repair surgery in his Twin Cities offices.
