Ear piercing is a common cultural practice in America and throughout the world. Occasionally, through trauma, an earring may be torn out of the ear lobe and the ear lobe can heal with an undesirable appearance. After such a split ear lobe trauma, if the wound is not closed within 24 hours, a Z-plasty technique is used to closed the wound. Typically, after repair a split ear lobe will be allowed to heal for up to 6 weeks before it is re-pierced in order to prevent recurrence of the split or widening of the piercing.
Ear gauging is a body piercing practice that has been around for millenia, but has recently gained popularity in western culture. A prominent historical example of this, the Buddha, had his ears gauged but removed them after renouncing his wealth, thus many images of the Buddha depict him with long stretched ear lobes.Ear gauging incrementally increasing the diameter of a piercing to allow the placement of stent earrings. The practice can be found in indigenous peoples throughout the world in present day and historically. Occasionally, for personal or occupational reasons individuals with ear gauging remove the gauges.
If you have stretched ear lobes after ear gauging and desire to return your ears to a normal pre-stretched appearance, we use a simple advancement flap technique that can be performed under local anesthesia. Please call our office for an appointment.
Patrick Simon, MD - Facial Plastic Surgery 