Question: “How old does a patient need to be before getting otoplasty (ear surgery)? What does the proedure involve and what are the risks? If you get it done too young, what are the odds that you have to get it redone as an adult? Is it true that if the patient is under 18, the surgery could be covered by provincial insurance?”
Answer: A patient should be five or six before getting otoplasty. The surgery is done under general anesthetic for children but can be done under local or intravenous sedation for adults. The procedure, which takes one to two hours, involves making small incisions in the crease behind the ear, and reshaping the cartilage using excision and sutures. A dressing is placed around the head but removed within a few days. There is usually minimal discomfort following surgery and most people return to work or school in one to two weeks.
Risks include bleeding, infection, a thick scar or reaction to the suture material. Trauma to the ear post-surgery can increase the risk of the ear protruding again, but it’s more common in adults, who have thicker cartilage, than it is in kids. Until you are 18, otoplasty is an insured service by the Ministry of Health in Ontario.