Deal With Overly Protruding Ears

Main Category: Cosmetic Medicine / Plastic Surgery
Article Date: 01 Jan 2006 - 16:00 PDT

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Children born with overly protruding ears should have them corrected after age five, when the ears reach full size, as the condition can adversely affect self-image.

The growing percentage of adults having cosmetic ear surgery is testament to the effects of abnormal ear shape, says UAB facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon Artemus Cox, M.D. "In 2002, 35 percent of ear surgery was done on adults; in 2004, that jumped to 54 percent.

Unlike anti-aging cosmetic procedures, cosmetic ear surgery is more of a 'life achievement' than an attempt to turn back the clock." Cox, assistant professor of otolaryngology, says the two-hour outpatient procedure for most ear surgery also is better to have done in childhood, when cartilage is more pliable and easier to shape.

University of Alabama at Birmingham
701 20th St. S., AB 1320
Birmingham, AL 35294-0113
United States
http://www.uab.edu/news

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