An overstretched earlobe or an elongated piercing hole often occurs gradually, after years of wearing heavy earrings. A torn or split earlobe usually happens in an instant, when a baby’s sudden grab or an over-the-head sweater catches an earring rips it through the fleshy lobe.
Fortunately, you don’t have to live with an unsightly torn or stretched-out earlobe. Our expert team at Manhattan Dermatology can fix this conspicuous problem in no time flat with a quick in-office earlobe repair procedure.
Let’s take a closer look at the ins and outs of earlobe reconstruction, including how soon you can start wearing earrings again afterward — and what to consider when you do.
Cosmetic specialists have been repairing torn or overstretched earlobes for decades. Today, this minor procedure is even more popular than ever, as people who no longer want their lobe-stretching gauge or plug earrings seek to close large piercing holes and restore normal earlobe size and shape.
But oversized piercing holes aren’t the only earlobe concern that cosmetic repair surgery can correct. We can also use it to:
We can also use earlobe repair techniques to prevent a likely earlobe split or tear, either by fixing a lobe with multiple piercings that are too close together, tightening a piercing that has become very elongated, or closing a piercing that’s too close to the bottom of the lobe.
Earlobes are mostly fatty tissue and skin. Free earlobes, which dangle unfixed, are more common than attached lobes, which are connected to the side of the face.
Cosmetic earlobe surgery typically uses a simple closure technique to repair this fatty tissue following damage or trauma that has left it split, open, or overstretched. Some types of earlobe damage require a more complex rotation of tissue to achieve desired results.
No matter which surgical approach a damaged earlobe requires, the average repair procedure takes 30-60 minutes per ear. Sutures remain in place for about a week during the initial healing phase, but it takes six to eight weeks for repaired lobes to heal completely.
Most people can wear earrings again following earlobe repair surgery, including in cases where earlobes must first be re-pierced. Our team provides specific guidelines for when it’s safe to re-pierce your ears and/or wear earrings after your procedure.
In general, you should be able to wear earrings again (and re-pierce your ears, if necessary) about eight weeks post-surgery. This four-month mark is when most repaired lobes are fully healed. You may be able to start wearing earrings a little sooner (at six weeks post-surgery), or you may need to wait a little longer than four months, depending on your healing rate.
You can support optimal healing and avoid a more prolonged phase of recovery by:
Once you’ve been cleared to wear earrings, we recommend:
When you do want to wear a heavier pair of earrings for a special occasion, you can fortify your earlobes by applying a tiny piece of support tape over their posts or hooks along the backs of your lobes.
This simple strategy helps offset the weight of your jewelry and takes stress off the tissues surrounding your piercings.
Do you have questions about earlobe repair? Our Manhattan Dermatology team has answers. Call your nearest office in Manhattan’s Murray Hill or Midtown East, New York City, today, or book an appointment online at your convenience.
