One question we often times get from patients with larger, more prominent ears is whether or not ear reduction surgery will help to pin the ear closer to the side of the head. Traditionally, the first thought for most plastic surgeons when they see a large, prominent ear is to consider pinning it back using classic otoplasty technique. If the only goal was to bring the ear in closer, then ear pinning would be a nice choice. However, so many patients present to our office complaining that their ears are simply too big. The ears are overly prominent from top to bottom, which most often involves the upper scapha region in most patients. In the instance where the patient is unhappy with the actual size of the ear, traditional ear pinning will only tackle a portion of the problem – bringing the ear in closer to the face.
So what option do you have if you want to bring the ear in closer while also shrinking it down in size? Really the only option is to perform Dr. Hilinski’s famed macrotia ear reduction surgery. The video shown below highlights this exact point as it visually shows you the concept behind ear reduction surgery and demonstrates for you an actual real-life surgical result where the ear is shrunk down in size and brought in closer.