New Options Coming for Ear Surgery?
You probably won’t notice a media feeding frenzy about this, and the Kardashians won’t rush directly to their plastic surgeons to learn about it, but for those who worry about ears that are oversized and/or stick out, a device called the earFold™ is making interesting news.
We will follow the progress of the device, since we perform otoplasty, or ear surgery, in New York for adults and children as young as about five years old. Adults consult us about overly prominent ears to find out about pinning them back and finally being rid of an issue that causes daily distress. Parents bring children in to see us when they are considering the procedure to derail bullying and/or eliminate a potential threat to their child’s developing body image.
Today, we still perform ear surgery using a small, crescent shaped incision behind the ears. We remove excess cartilage as needed, then place tiny sutures to gently bend the ears closer to the head. The procedure can be done with local anesthetic and/or IV sedation—general anesthesia is not needed. Recovery is normally quick and involves little discomfort.
When the earFold becomes available here in the U.S., it may make ear surgery even easier for our patients. According to Allergan, the pharmaceutical company that acquired the firm that invented the technology, earFold is a very thin strip of medical grade metal that’s implanted under the skin. Insertion can be accomplished in just a few minutes, and the patient’s ears can be repositioned as much as 34% closer to the head.
What’s more, Allergan maintains that the earFold can deliver results that are even more predictable than with traditional otoplasty, since the device is shaped before implantation. When you combine this potential benefit with the possibility that recovery from an earFold procedure may be even easier as well, we’re likely to consider trying the device for some of our New York ear surgery patients (as long as the news continues to be positive).
A recent article on Healio, a specialty clinical information website, reported that UK researchers studied the efficacy of the earFold device in 39 adults and children from 2011 to 2013. The scientists found that although a few complications were reported—including infection and scarring—and that the implant can’t be used for every case, earFold is generally effective. For the purposes of the study, some patients had their devices removed at specific intervals. Those patients achieved some reduction in ear prominence. But for those who retained their implants, the distance between the ear and the side of the head was reduced by more than one-third.
The product received what’s known as a “CE mark” last year. This means earFold has been approved for use in the European Economic Area (commonly known as the European Union). It is not yet available in the United States. Still, says the Allergan press release, there are almost 250,000 ear surgeries performed annually around the globe (data from the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery), so there should soon be more results to track as earFold is used in other countries.
If the position or size of your ears bothers you, or if you’re concerned about your child’s ears, we encourage you to come in to see us for a consultation. We can educate you about ear surgery, show you the results you could anticipate and explain the recovery process. It’s already a procedure that’s easy for most people; but you can also be sure that as new technology emerges that may make it even better, we will be among the first to know about it.
Give us a call at 212-570-6080 to find out more.
