Don’t Let Your Ears Distract – Otoplasty On Good Things Utah

Are your ears a little too prominent? Is there a solution to this problem other than hiding your ears with your hair? Dr. Scott Thompson and Troy sat down Thursday to talk about options for people who are not happy with their ears.

Troy: Tell everyone what we’re talking about tonight.

Dr. Thompson: Tonight we’re talking about an operation called Otoplasty. Oto means ear and this procedure is for kids and adults who have ears that are a little too prominent.

Troy: How old is are patient tonight?

Dr. Thompson: I believe he’s around 12 years old.

Troy: Why do we decide to go down the road of doing this type of surgery on a young kid.

Dr. Thompson: Well, this is driven usually by the patient and when a child comes in and says I’m getting teased about my ears, I’m bothered by my ears, that’s when we like to act.

Troy: And what are some of the things you look at when talking about this type of surgery with the mother and the child?

Dr. Thompson: I kind of look at the interaction between the parent and child to make sure it’s not something be pushed by the parents. Of course the parents have to be supportive but with any surgery you are going under yourself, you want it to be your idea and something you’re on board with.

Troy: How common is it for people to be thinking about having their ears pinned back, in adults as well?

Dr. Thompson: It’s very common. I have a lot of adults that have been bothered by their ears their whole lives and never got a chance to do it, maybe they were teased about it when they were younger and then they come to me in their 40’s or 50’s and want otoplasty surgery.

Troy: Are there any major side effects to having ear-pinning surgery?

Dr. Thompson: There is very low risk to this surgery, the same risks with any surgery; bleeding, infection, and things like that. But it’s really a low risk, high success rate surgery.

Troy: And we’re talking to a patient tonight who wasn’t necessarily picked on but was definitely aware of his looks.

Dr. Thompson: Yes, very aware and very self conscious. It’s always indicative when kids where their hear longer. And girls don’t want to pull their hair back. That’s when you know it’s something they are self conscious about.

Troy: We’re also showing a younger girl on there and she’s a dancer. And she said she always had to have her hair pinned back for dance. And it’s not that she felt people were laughing at her but we know what kids are like, they aren’t always purposely mean. They are little more pure about it but still a bit naughtly.

Dr. Thompson: Yes, and sometimes it’s just a little bit of a distraction and we’re just trying to harmonize all the features together.

Troy: At what age would you consider doing ear-pinning surgery on a child?

Dr. Thompson: Anywhere from about age 7 on up is okay.

Troy: Why not younger?

Dr. Thompson: Younger…it’s a little more difficult for kids to make that decision and also the ears are still growing.

Troy: Okay, so we need to be a little more advanced in our facial structure. Thank you so much, Dr. Thompson, for coming on the show today.

Watch The Younger You for the full story!

The Younger You airs Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. on CW30 and will be shown again on ABC4 Saturday at 4:30 p.m.