This surgery (otoplasty) is usually performed when a child reaches school age in order to avoid classroom teasing and emotional scarring.

*Un-retouched photos

It is also carried out on adults who may have hidden their embarrassing ears for years. This surgery is not as simple as it may seem.

The goal is to move the ears towards the head while keeping them natural looking, not too irregular and not too flat. The incisions are hidden behind the ears.

The cartilage is carefully reshaped and repositioned with multiple permanent sutures. One or two of these sutures may later be rejected by the body and are easily removed, but the shape of the ears usually remains unchanged. Following surgery, the ears may not match one another exactly.

Normally, both ears are rarely alike.