Otoplasty: a realistic week-by-week recovery

Otoplasty changes the shape or projection of the ear. At Mallorca Medical Group in Palma, a common question is not what is operated on, but what happens afterwards: how long the dressing stays, when side-sleeping is reasonable, and which swelling is expected. Otoplasty at Mallorca Medical Group is planned individually. This text describes a usual course, not a timetable that fits every person.

What is recovering

Prominent ears often show a poorly defined antihelix, a deep concha, or both. Surgery reshapes the cartilage and sets it closer to the skull, usually through an incision in the groove behind the ear. The Spanish Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery (SECPRE) describes otoplasty as a procedure to reposition prominent ears, with the scar hidden on the posterior surface.

Cartilage does not behave like facial skin. It is stiffer, it heals on a different timeline, and it needs mechanical protection for weeks. The dressing and the headband are not a cosmetic detail: they support the new shape while the internal sutures do their work.

Otoplasty recovery: the first week

The first days bring swelling, a feeling of tightness and, sometimes, a mild bruise around the ear. Pain is usually moderate and is managed with the analgesia agreed in consultation. This is not a silent recovery: the ears are richly innervated, and the pressure of the dressing is noticeable.

A turban-style dressing is kept for the first days, according to the plan for that case. The clinic’s procedure page describes an initial dressing and, later, an elastic band. The area should stay dry. The ear should not be bent, and glasses whose arms rest on the scar are best avoided. Rest is relative: walking is fine; sport and effort that raise pressure in the head are not.

Contact the clinic if pain rises suddenly, one side swells much more than the other, fever appears, or bleeding soaks the dressing. Those signs are not part of the usual course and are assessed in person, not by message.

Weeks two and three

When the dressing comes off, the ears may look closer to the head than they will finally sit, with folds that still feel stiff and skin that is slightly bruised. That image is not the final result. The scar, behind the ear, is pink and sensitive.

From there, a soft band or headband is often used, especially at night, for several weeks. The aim is to stop the ear folding against the pillow. Sleeping on the back is the safer position in this phase. Desk work usually resumes before sport. Contact sports, swimming and tight helmets wait for review.

From the first to the third month

Visible swelling settles gradually. Sensation may be altered: tingling, numbness, or a feeling that the cartilage is hard. That usually improves; it does not switch off overnight. Internal sutures are not removed. External ones, if used, are checked at the follow-up visit.

Physical activity returns in stages. Walking and non-contact exercise come before sports in which the ear can be struck. Direct sun on a fresh scar tends to darken the mark: cover it or protect it while it is still pink.

What otoplasty does not change

Surgery does not promise two identical ears. The starting asymmetry is rarely zero, and a small difference may remain. It also does not change the overall size of the ear if the problem was projection alone: a large ear (macrotia) is planned differently.

Hearing is not the goal of this operation. Recurrent ear infections, a blocked canal, or any doubt about the ear canal are assessed separately. Otoplasty does not replace an ear, nose and throat review when the reason for consultation is hearing or infection.

In childhood, the indication is not set by the parents’ wish alone. The cartilage needs enough firmness, and the child needs to understand, as far as age allows, what the dressing involves. In some children, growth of the skull reduces prominence and surgery is no longer indicated. In adults the cartilage is firmer, and planning takes glasses, helmets, work and sport into account. That adult-specific approach is set out in the article on planning otoplasty in adults.

When the result is judged

The shape can be guessed early, once the dressing is down. Cartilage settling and scar maturation take months. Calling a result stable before that interval leads to rushed conclusions. A revision, if it is ever discussed, is not decided in the first weeks of swelling.

The training of Dr. García Ceballos, a specialist in plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgery, MD, FCCP and MRCS I England, with 25 years of clinical practice, guides that decision case by case. There is no single discharge protocol and no universal date for leaving the headband.

How the decision is made in consultation

Assessment reviews projection, the antihelix fold, conchal depth, cartilage quality and expectations. Previous scars, dressing allergies, and the real calendar of work or school are also discussed. A consultation at Mallorca Medical Group is not free of charge: it is a medical visit, with examination and a plan that may include not operating.

Anyone who wants to review whether otoplasty is indicated can request an appointment at mallorcamedicalgroup.com. The recovery described here is a guide. Dressing, analgesia and reviews are set after the patient is seen, not from an article.