I am often asked by my patients what can be done to improve the appearance of their ear lobes and to better support their earrings. Although issues with the ear lobe may not be too severe, it’s important to know that it’s possible and relatively simple to enhance the appearance of aged or torn earlobes.
Ear lobe problems
Often, the problem with an ear lobe is elongation of the piercing hole or, in more serious cases, the hole tearing all the way through the edge of the lobe. Elongated holes can make earrings hang somewhat crooked or pointing downward, and torn earring holes won’t hold an earring all together.
Prevention is Key

It’s important to be mindful of your earrings, and to avoid wearing very heavy earrings. Also, if you are preparing to have your ears pierced, it’s helpful to not have the ear lobe pierced too low, so that there may be more support available for an earring.
Injectable Fillers
One options for an elongated hole or deflated lobe is to add a filler to the skin beneath the hole to add more support to the skin. The injection of Juvederm, Perlane, Restylane or other hyaluronic acids fillers are great for this area of the ear lobe.  Although not a permanent fix, it can often last for 6-12 months in this particular area.

Plastic Surgery Ear Lobe Repair
Ear lobes that have been torn all the way through require a surgical correction. Fortunately, this can be done in the office, and is usually well-tolerated by patients. The procedure involves injecting local anesthetic into the ear lobe, then rearranging the skin of the lobe to achieve an excellent cosmetic result and suturing with a thin absorbable suture.  The ear may be subsequently repierced about six weeks following the procedure.
Gauged Earlobe Repair
For those who have had their ears gauged and now would like to undo this process, there are options for that repair as well. This type of repair can be more difficult due to the amount of stretching and thinning of the tissues over time. In these cases, it’s essential to reconstruct the entire earlobe.
This is more involved, and may be done as an outpatient operation in a surgery center, although it can may occasionally be done under local anesthetic in the office setting.
Ultimately, there are a lot of options for problems with the earlobe. Keeping our earlobe holes from getting too stretched out in the first place is the best option, but plastic surgery fixes also offer an excellent cosmetic result.
 
Contact us if you think you could benefit from an ear lobe repair or to find out more.