Dr. Sam Lam Plastic Surgery Forum

Dr. Lam,

I have a grandson that is nearly five years old that has protruding ears. His mother is considering having an otoplasty performed to improve the appearance of his ears. I had the same surgery performed nearly 40 years ago with excellent results. Can you tell me how many otoplatsty surgeries you perform on children per year (on average)? Also, do you perform children's otoplasty surgeries under general anesthesia? Do you perform them in your surgery center or in a hospital? Do you have any recommendations regarding this type of surgery for a young child?

Thanks in advance for your assistance!

hi,
overwhelmingly i perform more otoplasties in adults like 90%. that is the trend nowadays. i only perform one on a child per year on average. however, i perform approximately 1 every couple of weeks. in fact, i will be performing an otoplasty in about 30 minutes. i believe i do more otoplasties than 99% of surgeons in the U.S. because i specialize in it.

with children, i perform the procedure under general anesthesia. it is just too difficult to get them not to move around. my cut off in general is 6 years old when they can handle the postoperative care better plus their ear is far more mature to handle it as well (in size that is).

i would have to do the procedure in the hospital (which is about 2 blocks from my surgery center). i have very reasonable rates for the hospital too. i have state regulations that do not permit me to operate with anesthesia on someone under 18 years of age in my surgery center.

my recommendation about when to do it is to do it at the earliest acceptable age, which is 6 years of age, because there are psychological issues that can bear on a child as he or she matures. the key is to determine if the child has interest in doing it rather than forcing a child to do something against his or her will. of course, it is a tricky thing since some children may not speak up about it.

hope that helps as a start.
best,
sml