How to Prepare for Ear Surgery

Prominent ears aren't something you have to live with. Also known as otoplasty, ear surgery can help give large or awkwardly formed ears a more pleasing appearance.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Bucket with a lid
• Ice packs and clips
• Snack foods
• Headbands provided by your doctor

Prepare for Ear Surgery

1. Fast briefly. Don't eat or drink after midnight the night before your surgery or on the morning of your procedure, if your surgery will involve a general anesthesia.
2. Shampoo your hair on the morning of the procedure. Clean hair and a clean scalp go a long way toward helping the surgeon keep your ears and the surrounding area sterile during surgery.
3. Wear a shirt or blouse that doesn't need to be pulled over your head. You'll want to avoid doing anything that will bend or pull at the ears following your surgery.
4. Mind your hair. If you have short hair, get a trim haircut before surgery to prevent your hair from making contact with your ears during surgery. If you have longer hair, wear it in a braid to keep it from your ears.
5. Lock away the aspirin. It's recommended that you not consume aspirin in the 2 weeks prior to your otoplasty.
6. Prepare a supportive recovery area. Include ample pillows and lots of books and magazines, along with your favorite CDs. Have ready access to a bucket with a lid, in case you experience vomiting.
7. Purchase snack foods with lots of protein. Your body needs protein for healing and recovery.
8. Prepare to handle swelling by making large ice packs and keeping a supply in your freezer. Buy clips to keep these packs in place.
9. Decorate the special headbands given to you by your doctor to help your ears to recover properly. Make these headbands fun by personalizing them as you see fit. You may even invite your friends to sign them, as if they were a cast.

Tips & Warnings

• Choose your surgeon carefully. If surgery is performed by an inexperienced or unskilled doctor, you may wind up with overcorrection. In overcorrection, the ears may be left asymmetric, or they may be placed too close to the head. There may also be distortions to the contours of the ears. Find an experienced surgeon at LocateADoc.com (see Resources below).
• Risks associated with ear surgery are relatively minimal. Possible complications include infection, blood clots and hearing loss. When this procedure is performed on children, loosening of sutures may occur, causing the ears to revert to their pre-surgery appearance.