If your child has prominent ears that stick out, you will know how tough it can be for them to endure the teasing and bullying that often comes with it.
Ear pinning is one way that you can bring their ears closer to their head, reducing the prominence of their ears. It’s completely normal to feel reluctant about altering your child’s appearance but know that this is an extremely common procedure that produces excellent results.
5 Things You Should Know about Ear Pinning for Kids
1. Ear pinning offers a number of psychological benefits
When a child is being bullied and teased at school, it can leave them with poor self-esteem and a heightened self-consciousness. An ear pinning procedures helps make their ears more proportional, which makes a big difference to their appearance. Countless children have experienced an increase in self-confidence following this procedure.
2. Children should be at least 5 before you consider ear pinning
When a child is younger than 5, their ears are still growing, which is why it’s best to wait until they’re older before considering an ear pinning procedure. The sooner you can schedule an otoplasty procedure, the better, because it means that your child can start enjoying the psychological benefits earlier.
3. Ear pinning is completely safe and results in very little pain
Where surgery was once the only way to pin the ears back, there is now also a no-incision option for children that doesn’t require a general anaesthetic or any incisions. Non-surgical otoplasty can be performed in less than an hour at the top ear pining specialists such as Dr Zurek clinic in Sydney and won’t require an overnight stay in a hospital. However, in some cases, your surgeon might decide that an overnight stay is necessary should they want to monitor your child’s discomfort levels. During a non-surgical otoplasty procedure, sutures are used to pin the ears back without having to remove excess skin and cartilage. The results are permanent and look completely natural.
4. Recovery is quick
If you decide to go the non-surgical otoplasty route, your child will be back at school within a day or two and even though there might be some slight bruising and swelling, it will be barely noticeable to others and the side effects will subside within a week or two. Your child will need to avoid any activities that could harm their ears for at least a week after their procedure.
5. Ear pinning can be personalised according to your child’s needs
There really is no one-size-fits-all approach to ear pinning because some children may require surgery in order for skin and cartilage to be removed. In some cases, excess cartilage can also be used to rebuild certain features if the ears are deformed in other ways. During your otoplasty consultation, your surgeon will take you through the available options once your child’s ears have been thoroughly examined.
Whichever type of otoplasty procedure you decide to go ahead with, it will change your child’s life for the better.
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