Ear Reduction (Macrotia) Surgery

Otoplasty is aesthetic, cosmetic ear surgery and procedures performed to change the shape, position or size of the ears.

People can choose to have ear aesthetics surgeries if they are uncomfortable with their ears being too big compared to their heads or being too prominent. Also if a person has ear deformities due to an injury or congenital deformities , they may consider otoplasty surgery.

Macrotia is the medical term for large ears (Macro = big and otia = ear). Ears are generally defined as three parts vertically. The central third is known as the conchal cavity (which goes towards the auditory hole, “ear hole”), the upper third is the scaphal cavity and the lower third is the earlobe.

Sometimes the ear can be too large in each of these parts, or sometimes it has disproportionately large elements in a more localized manner. Surgically, it is possible to reduce both the height and width of the ear. If the upper third is unbalanced, has a wide, flat scaphal cavity, the upper part of the ear may look like a heavy, triangular or pointed pyramid.

If the earlobe is too large, the lower part of the ear will appear heavy or pear-shaped.

Sometimes  the size of an ear may have to be reduced, for example after an accident or because of a tumor being removed, but after reconstructive surgery, the smaller ear can begin to look more attractive than the other so that the larger ear can be reduced to match.

The procedure to reduce the size of ears is known as ear reduction (macrotia) surgery. Parts of the ear can be reduced separately or reduced as a whole.