This is a recent patient example that shows a phenomenal transformation as a result of macrotia ear reduction combined with earlobe reduction surgery.
This young lady from San Diego desired to have her ears made less prominent. So many patients do their preliminary research and hone in on ear pinning (otoplasty) as the procedure they need to have done. Unfortunately, there are a lot of cosmetic ear surgery patients with large ears who won’t benefit from otoplasty (ear pinning). What they really have is a condition called macrotia – where the ear is overly developed and too large for their face. This is most commonly due to an enlarged scapha, which is the segment of cartilage that helps form the upper 1/3 of the ear. 
These patients can elect to have ear pinning, but they won’t see much of an improvement in the shape and size of their ear. What they need to have done is scapha reduction – along with earlobe reduction in many cases – in order for their ears to actually be made smaller and less prominent.
If you look at this patient’s right ear, you can readily see how the long axis of the ear, or the height (shown by the red arrows), looks a bit exaggerated compared to the short axis, or the width of the ear. Her ear can also be described as being too narrow or too tall. If you look more closely, you will see how the top of her ear looks over developed – as if there is just too much ear along the upper 1/3. Contributing to the appearance of an enlarged ear, her earlobe is also a bit prominent.
Fortunately for her, she found Dr. Hilinski here in San Diego – her own backyard. Instead of recommending ear pinning, Dr. Hilinski suggested she undergo macrotia ear reduction surgery. He performed the operation using his specialized technique. A majority of the focus was to make the upper portion of her ear much smaller in size. But, as he does in many cases like this, he also reduced the size of her earlobe in an effort to give the overall appearance of a smaller ear.
Ear Reduction Before & After
The phenomenal results of her ear reduction surgery are shown here. This surgical outcome represents about 3 months of healing. And as you can see, she now has much smaller ears that are proportional to her facial structure.
