Ear Piercing Repair:
Can my enlarged ear piercing holes be corrected? I have torn the ear lobe?
Over time and with the use of heavy ear rings, the holes for the original ear piercing can enlarge.
This may cause a deformity in the ear lobe. The earrings may sit asymmetrically, or the earrings may not even stay in the holes.
Some patients have very large holes created by rings designed to enlarge the ear piercing holes.
If a hooped earring gets pulled firmly, the ear piercing hole can be torn all the way through the ear lobe leaving a cleft lobe after it heals.
My earlobes are too big. Can I have them made smaller?
The earlobe size can be reduced and the earlobe shape adjusted.
After ear piercing, I developed scarring at the site of the ear piercing. This has formed a big lump. What can I do?
There are occasional patients that develop a scar at the site of their piercing.
This often follows an infection or allergic reaction to the earrings.
Sometimes the scar is quite small and will resolve on its own, or responds to conservative treatment like a steroid injection.
The scarring can become quite large producing a significant cosmetic deformity.
Surgical excision of the scars with local reconstruction will eliminate the scar, although 10% of patients will develop a thicker scar than desired. Early treatment with steroid injections in the new scar is used to treat this risk.
How is this repaired?
The repair of a torn cleft ear lobe, a wide earhole piercing, large ear lobes or abnormal scarring is done under local anaesthetic.
The hole or the cleft is repaired and the hole is completely removed.
At 6 weeks after the repair, the patient can re-pierce the lobe.
The new piercing should not be made in the old scar, from the repair, because the scar will easily tear again.
Patients with very large holes who no longer wish to have this style of earing can have the ear lobe reconstructed and the large hole completely removed under local anaesthesia.
This procedure is done under local anesthetic and takes under one hour.
There will be stitches that must be removed in 5-6 days after surgery.
There is no down time.
Is this surgery covered by AHS (Alberta Health Services)?
The ear lobe procedures are not covered by AHS