What is an Otoplasty?
Otoplasty — also known as cosmetic ear surgery — is a procedure to change the shape, position, or size of the ears.
You might choose to have otoplasty if you're bothered by how far your ears stick out from your head. That is precisely why I had this done.
Before and after Otoplasty surgery
The difference is far from extreme. In fact, it's quite subtle; but noticeable if you are looking for it. I have received a lot of questions regarding my ears in terms of how they look in photos, and just in general that they look different. I decided to put together a little story about my experience with it all.
When and Why?
I had this surgery done about 4 years ago when I was 23 about to turn 24. At this point, I had been wanting this procedure for several months and I knew I needed to get it done. Why you ask? To put it simply, my ears were fucking huge. I was never teased or bullied about them in anyway. No one ever even remotely made a comment that I had large ears, maybe to others they were not that big. But to me, they were massive, and to some extent they controlled my life. This surgery has completely changed my life and has given me the confidence that I longed for, because all that I saw when I looked in the mirror, was ears.
I hated them. My ears gave my anxiety to the point whenever I would talk to someone all I imagined in my head was that they were looking at my ears and not even paying attention to the conversation. Sound bad eh?
So, I did this for myself. I started doing research on 'how to make your ears smaller' and 'how to pin your ears back' etc. etc. Wouldn't you know it, I found a miraculous surgery called an Otoplasty.
Surgery Duration and Downtime
Overall, I was under general anesthesia for about 45 minutes. This is a relatively quick procedure. I remember going into surgery and getting cold feet. I made the mistake of watching the full surgery video on YouTube the night before, I definitely don't recommend doing that for any surgery where they are cutting you open.
I confided in the doctor about my concerns of the surgery. Which were mainly the fear of going under anesthesia and have my ears sliced and folded over on the side of my head (yes, that's how it's performed). My doctor was incredibly nice and genuinely cared about my concerns and he assured me this was one of the most mild and quick procedures they do. So, with that, I requested to pop a zanny to calm my nerves and hopped into the operating room.
That's all I remember until waking up in a wheelchair completely out of it. No nausea, no dry mouth or any of the bad shit that comes with going under anesthetic. I chilled out for a bit and drank Gatorade until I felt a little more like myself, then hopped into the car with my friend (because you cannot drive) and went home an hour or less after waking up from surgery.
Pain and Recovery
Alright alright here we are, the pain and recovery. The juice everyone wants to know about a surgery. Honestly, I was expecting it to hurt like shit (after reading several people's experience with this online, and especially after watching the video for this surgery). Keep in mind though that everyone's experience with any surgery will vary.
However, I was never in any real pain; I remember it was slightly uncomfortable but it was nothing that Motrin didn't help. I never took the pain pills prescribed because they weren't really needed, and if I didn't have to take them, I wasn't going to.
The recovery time overall was about 10 days until I could go back to physical activity. This meant I couldn't lift weights for almost two weeks. At this time of my life, I was weight training every day, sometimes twice. I thought I was going to hate missing the gym that much, but to be honest it was pretty freeing. I didn't have to plan my day around working out, this led me to pursue other interests and hobbies.
Research and Pricing
Keep in mind that prices for any surgery will vary from doctor to doctor. While researching an otoplasty and what all places offered this procedure I found that this is a rather niche surgery, and not too many doctors offer it. I ran through at least five different surgeons until I found Dr. Stein in Raleigh, North Carolina. He is a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon. Meaning, any and everything to do with face symmetry, he was the guy.
The prices varied from around $3,100-$4,600. The $4,600 option is what Dr. Stein was offering, I ended up going with because of the free consultation with him and, like I mentioned before, he seemed to genuinely care about any concerns I had and what I wanted the outcome of the surgery to be.
All in all, it was well worth the cost, downtime, and slight discomfort I experienced so that I could be truly happy with my outward appearance. To some, this may sound egotistical to electively go under the knife for the sake of cosmetic appearance, especially as a guy. But fuck em, right? I'm happy.
Comments