Otoplasty is one of the few aesthetic operations where the goal is not to be noticed. A good result is an ear that nobody comments on, sitting at a normal distance from the head, with the folds an ear is supposed to have. This page explains what causes prominent ears, how I correct them, at what age, and what the operation genuinely cannot promise.
What Prominent Ears Actually Are
Prominent ears affect roughly one person in twenty, and they are not simply large ears. In most cases the problem is one of two things, and often both.
The first is a missing or shallow antihelical fold, the curved ridge that should run inside the rim of the ear. When that fold fails to form, the upper ear stands away from the head instead of curving back toward it. The second is an oversized conchal bowl, the deep cup at the centre of the ear, which pushes the whole ear outward like a shelf.
Which of the two is dominant decides the technique. Correcting a missing fold and correcting an oversized bowl are different operations, and a surgeon who performs the same manoeuvre on every ear will get the right answer some of the time.
How I Perform the Operation
The incision is placed behind the ear, in the crease where the ear meets the head, so the scar sits in a natural fold and is not visible from the front or the side.
Where the antihelical fold is missing, I create it with permanent sutures that fold the cartilage into shape, supported by gentle scoring of the cartilage surface where it is too stiff to bend without force. Cartilage that is bent rather than cut keeps its springiness and its natural contour, and a fold made with sutures alone can relax over time if the cartilage is fighting it. The balance between the two is a judgement made in the operating room with the ear in front of me.
Where the conchal bowl is the problem, the bowl is either set back toward the mastoid with sutures or reduced by removing a strip of cartilage, depending on how much excess there is.
I check both ears against each other repeatedly during the operation rather than finishing one and then starting the other, because the ears are judged as a pair and never in isolation.
Age and Timing
The ear reaches close to its adult size early, which is why otoplasty can be performed from around five to six years of age. In children the usual reason to operate is that the ears have started to attract comment at school, and the operation is generally done under general anaesthesia.
There is no upper age limit. Adults are a large part of my otoplasty practice, often people who wanted this done as children and are now deciding for themselves. In adults the operation is frequently possible under local anaesthesia with sedation.
Who Is a Good Candidate
Anyone from around six years old with ears that stand away from the head, in reasonable general health, with an understanding of what the operation is aiming at. Cartilage that is still soft, as in younger patients, is easier to reshape; adult cartilage is stiffer and more often needs scoring, which is a technical point rather than a barrier.
The honest limits. Your two ears are not identical now and they will not be identical afterwards, because the goal is symmetry within normal variation, not a mirror image. If you are pursuing the operation because someone else wants you to, particularly with a child, that is worth discussing before it is booked. And if you have a history of keloid scarring, the incision behind the ear carries a real risk in your skin and needs planning, not reassurance.
The Operation
Otoplasty takes roughly one and a half to two hours for both ears and is a day case. Anaesthesia is general in children and either general or local with sedation in adults. A soft dressing is applied around the head at the end of the operation.
There is no hospital stay. You walk out the same day.
Your Days in Istanbul
- Day 0: surgery, a few hours of observation, and back to your hotel the same day.
- Days 1 to 3: the head dressing stays on. Discomfort is mild and controlled with simple painkillers. Sleeping on your back.
- Day 3 to 5: dressing removed, ears checked, headband fitted, and you fly home. Plan four to five days in Istanbul.
After the dressing comes off you move onto a soft headband, and the schedule tapers rather than stopping suddenly:
- First week: worn continuously, but you can take it off for up to an hour, or for shorter breaks through the day, when it becomes uncomfortable.
- Second week: worn as much as you reasonably can, and without exception at night and at home.
- Weeks three and four: at night only, while you sleep.
The night-time part matters more than patients expect, because it stops the ear being folded forward during sleep while the cartilage and sutures are still settling. Four weeks of tapering is enough. Instructions that demand six weeks of constant wear tend to be abandoned by week two, which helps nobody.
Sutures behind the ear are usually absorbable. Desk work and school are realistic within a few days of the dressing coming off. Contact sports, swimming and anything that can catch the ear wait about six weeks.
If you want a plan built around your own surgery date, the recovery planner will make one.
Risks and Honest Limits
The specific risk of otoplasty is relapse: the ear drifting partly back toward its original position as the cartilage tries to return to its old shape. It is the reason permanent sutures are used, the reason cartilage is scored where it is stiff, and the reason the night headband is not optional. Pooled data from published series put revision or recurrence at around 5 in 100 ears, so it is uncommon but not rare, and a revision is a smaller operation than the first one.
The other risks are the ones common to any surgery on the ear, and the published pooled figures are useful because they are lower than most people fear: bleeding or haematoma in roughly 2 to 3 percent, infection under 1 percent, wound healing problems around 3 percent, suture-related problems around 2 percent, and problem scarring under 2 percent. Altered sensation usually settles. Keloid-prone skin is the exception to all of these numbers and needs separate planning.
An honest note on expectations: the ears will look overcorrected in the first weeks because of swelling. Judging the result before six weeks is judging swelling.
Cost of Otoplasty in Turkey
Otoplasty in Istanbul costs considerably less than the same operation in the United Kingdom, Germany or the wider EU, and the difference comes from local operating costs rather than the technique. The figure depends on whether one or both ears are treated, whether the anaesthesia is general or local with sedation, and whether the case is a revision of surgery done elsewhere. I quote in writing after seeing photographs, and the quotation covers the operation, anaesthesia and follow-up in Istanbul.
Send your photographs for an assessment. Front, back and both side views with the hair held away from the ears are enough for me to tell you which technique your ears need and what to expect. Message on WhatsApp
Frequently Asked Questions
At what age can otoplasty be done?
From around five to six years, once the ear is close to adult size. There is no upper limit, and a large share of my otoplasty patients are adults.
Will the scar be visible?
The incision sits in the crease behind the ear, so it is not visible from the front or the side. It is visible only if someone pulls the ear forward and looks for it.
How long do I stay in Turkey for otoplasty?
Four to five days. The operation is a day case, and the head dressing comes off before you fly.
Do the ears go back to how they were?
Partial relapse is the specific risk of this operation. Permanent sutures, cartilage scoring where needed and wearing the headband on the tapering four-week schedule are what keep it uncommon.
Can just one ear be corrected?
Yes, when only one ear is prominent. In practice I assess both, because the aim is a balanced pair rather than a corrected ear.
Is otoplasty painful?
Most patients describe it as mild and controlled with simple painkillers, and the head dressing feels more restrictive than the ears feel sore. I will not tell you it is nothing, though: pain or itching is the single most commonly reported complaint after otoplasty in published series, affecting slightly more than one patient in ten, and it usually settles within the first weeks.
When can my child go back to school?
Within a few days of the dressing coming off, wearing the headband on the tapering schedule. Sport and swimming wait about six weeks.
About the Surgeon
Dr Mustafa Aydınol is a plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgeon practising in Istanbul, a member of ISAPS and of the Turkish Society of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. The practice holds Health Tourism Authorization from the Turkish Ministry of Health. Consultations are conducted in Turkish, English, German and Italian.
