Is surgery to set back prominent ears (pinnaplasty) safe?

Surgery to set back prominent ears (pinnaplasty/otoplasty) is the most common paediatric plastic surgical procedure in the UK. Consultant Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeon at Great Ormond Street Hospital, Mr David Gault, asks whether this surgery is necessary or even safe?

He says:

Setting the ears remains plastic surgery’s appendicectomy, but is it really safe, and why are we not avoiding it altogether when non-surgical correction has been around for over 20 years? Pinnaplasty is perceived as a simple procedure by doctors and the public alike... but a detailed review shows a steady incidence of problems.

He goes on to write that:

Neonatal moulding can correct over 97% of all external ear deformities, including all folding deformities of the ear (stick-out ears, rim kinks, lop ear, Stahl’s bar) and cryptotiaback.

Read the full article: An End To Pinnaplasty

The number of new episodes of a condition arising in a certain group of people over a specified period of time. Full medical glossary