It is not uncommon for many women and men to suffer from a pulled down long earlobe or full tear making it hard to wear those special earrings. Common causes of lobe tears include continued wearing of heavy, pendulous earrings, trauma from snagging earrings on clothes or of course that adorable baby having pulled on the shiny object dangling from your earlobe. However, this type of issue can easily be fixed and usually can be done in the office under local anesthesia within an hour.
Earlobe tears can be classified into partial, full, and multiple tears. Partial tears are usually a simple elongation of the original piercing and bother patients as their earrings no longer sit correctly or the added weight produces an elongated opening. Full tears represent a violation of the inferior lobe border and can be multiple in nature as well.
Depending on the tear, reconstruction can take different forms. In all methods, the skin lining the slot is removed creating a raw edge to rebuild. If the tear of the earlobe is incomplete, it is sometimes extended downwards to complete it. The earlobe is then sutured back up with few sutures, usually no more than 5. There is minimal discomfort after earlobe repair and there is no need for prescription medicine other than an ointment antibiotic after your surgery.
There is also no downtime and only minimal restrictions such as no water on the repaired earlobe for 24 hours. There may be some sensitivity after surgery but this will go away after a few days and can be managed with a few Advil or Tylenol. Stitches are then removed in 7 to 10 days. Ear lobes that have been repaired may be re-pierced after about six weeks and will look as it did when it was originally pierced.
For more information on earlobe repairs call us!
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery Group
(310) 275-6600
