Category — Otoplasty

Melissa is a 30 year old professional who has lived with protruding ears all her life.  After finishing graduate school last spring, Melissa decided to give herself a present of otoplasty surgery.

Otoplasty, commonly known as “ear pinning, is the surgical correction of misshapen, protruding or prominent ears.  The problem develops from a failure of the ears to form a fold in the outer portion of the ear, known as the ‘anti helical fold” in utero. Surgery is performed to re create that fold and set the ears closer toward the scalp through an incision hidden behind the ear.  This surgery is frequently performed on children, often as young as 5 to 6, but can also be done in adults.

In light of recent media coverage of teens and plastic surgery, including a Today Show segment on March 30th, New Jersey plastic surgeon, Dr. Paul M. Parker, saw a great opportunity to address the right way to approach cosmetic surgery for teens and young adults and the benefits.

There is a fine line between what is and is not appropriate for teens and young adults. For example, a 16 year old girl, who is not completely developed physically or psychologically, wants to enlarge her otherwise normal breasts from a B to C cup. In this example, we would encourage the patient and her parents to wait until her physical development is complete.

Sean heard it all as he was growing up- “dumbo ears,” “radar” and all the other cruel names kids could come up with to describe his ears. Now, at 19, he made the decision to do something about his protruding ears, but not for the reason most would assume. New Jersey cosmetic surgery became his only option. Sean wasn’t thinking about the past, he was thinking about the future.

“My ears didn’t bother me, but the teasing did,” he says. “In about two years, I want to begin law enforcement training and just didn’t want to have to deal with any ribbing during the strenuous training.”

Democratic leaders in the Senate unveiled their proposal for overhauling the health care system, which includes a new 5% tax on elective cosmetic procedures. Senate Democrats argue that the tax, which was a surprise addition to the sweeping 2,074-page bill, will generate $5.8 billion over the next 10 years to be put towards the bill’s estimated $849 billion price tag. However, this tax as discriminatory, arbitrary and ineffective.