The face is one characteristic of a person that often proves to be the most memorable to others. We must see a person’s face in order to recognize them, and a person’s level of attractiveness is primarily gauged by this trait. Insecurities that cannot be readily covered or camouflaged at any time can cause a person grief.
Most people are more concerned with the look of their face rather than the appearance of their body because facial features are permanent, whereas the shape of one’s body can undergo changes with weight fluctuations, a workout routine, or a combination of the two along with the use of supplements. In an effort to allow a person’s exterior anatomy to exude a natural, inner confidence, there are a number of facial cosmetic surgeries available to treat perceived imperfections of the face.
From the eyebrows all the way down to the chin, some available procedures are:
- Brow lift (forehead lift)
- Eye lift (eyelid surgery, blepharoplasty)
- Nose surgery (nose job, rhinoplasty)
- Lip augmentation (through an implant or injectable fillers)
- Chin augmentation (chin implant surgery, mentoplasty)
- Facelift (rhytidectomy)
- Neck lift (platysmaplasty)
When reading through the list, a few or all of the surgeries may sound familiar. You may even know of someone who has undergone one or more of the cosmetic procedures. Yet, even with the mention of the above set of procedures, there is one feature that was not mentioned, and rarely is – the ears. Though the ears sit to the side of the face, they are nearly always in full view.
In the same way a person may be dissatisfied with the shape of his or her nose, or the lack of fullness in the lips, patients interested in otoplasty, or cosmetic ear surgery, are dissatisfied with the look of their ears, especially if they are prominent and stick out. The insecurity may begin at a young age, as children tend to lack the social censors we develop as adults, and may point out a person’s oversized or prominent ears. This surgery is typically safe to perform on children over the age of five, adolescents, and adults. In a simple surgery, a discrete incision is created so the cartilage of the ear can be reshaped, then stitched back to a more desirable location.
Otoplasty is not the only type of cosmetic surgery that can be performed on the ears. Earlobe surgery is another way to change the size and shape of the ears, though the procedure will not alter the position of the ears. If an earlobe is too long or contains an unwanted or distorted piercing hole, the lobes can be surgically altered. Earlobe surgeries typically take less than an hour to perform and require virtually no downtime.
Dr. Ran Y. Rubinstein is a New York plastic surgeon who has mastered the art of facial plastic surgery. Aside from practicing plastic surgery, Dr. Rubinstein also teaches medical students as an assistant professor at the esteemed Columbia – New York Presbyterian Hospital where he educates the next generation of plastic surgeons. Dr. Rubinstein can be reached at 845-863-1772 or online at /contact-plastic-surgeon-manhattan-ny/request-consult-form.html