Earlobe Reduction Surgery

Large Earlobe Reduction Surgery

Whilst not many people of aware of this issue, large, hanging earlobes can cause significant embarrassment to some people. An unkind comment or throwaway remark can lead to an awareness of large or prominent earlobes. The size and shape of the earlobe is very variable; some lobes are small and attach directly to the back of the jawline, whilst others hang down to a variable extent. These appearances are all normal. For those patients who are concerned over their earlobe appearance, earlobe reduction is a relatively simple procedure which can be undertaken under local anaesthesia on an outpatient basis.

There are a number of ways of achieving an earlobe reduction. The scar can be hidden behind the ear, but this tends to roll the lobe over distorting it. For a large reduction the skin from both the front and the back of the lobe needs to be removed, resulting in visible scarring, however, this scarring usually settles very nicely and is relatively well disguised at the top of the lobe.

This demonstrates the piece of tissue which has been removed from the earlobe and shows the resulting scar 6 months after excision
This demonstrates the piece of tissue which was subsequently removed from the upper ear after the earlobe reduction  – note the small visible scar and the amount of ear height reduction achieved