Physical appearance is straight related to social and emotional well-being. The plastic surgery to correct protruding ears can be done in the childhood.

Physical appearance is straight related to social and emotional well-being. The plastic surgery to correct protruding ears can be done in the childhood.
 
Nicknames are common in the childhood. Fanner, Dumbo, sugar bowl, Topo Gigio. Only who has protruding ears knows how much is difficult to live with these nicknames. In the last decade, several studies evidenced that the physical appearance is straight related to social and emotional well-being. In Brazil, this supposition is more than confirmed, although it has fallen from the second position (in  2004) to the current ninth position in the ranking of countries that most perform plastic surgeries in the world, numbers are still drawing attention. According to the Brazilian Association of Plastic Surgery, more than 365 thousand of esthetic procedures are performed in country annually – and 69% are related to female public.
 
Ears malformation generally affects patient self-esteem. Specialists say that problems begin  5 or 6 onwards, age in which school activities are initiated and the comments made by school colleagues starts to bother the child that  feels like someone  “different”, segregated from the group. The child psychologist Maria Teresa Lopes, who works for a private school in Salvador in the area of Social Work, says that in most of cases the physical appearance really affects child emotional and intellectual development.

“When we start investigating those shy boys that generally have difficulty in communicating and relationship, we found out that they feel bad because they are ‘different’”, explains the psychologist. According to her, this discomfort interferes even in the performance in the school, mainly when the colleagues start with the nicknames. “They become extremely shy and start to exclude themselves from the group”.

However, this physical problem that generally  causes psychological damages can be solved through the otoplasty, which is a plastic surgery indicated to correct outer ear problems. It is also called as “abduction ear”, the protruding ear is a deformity related to genetic factors and to family and racial features that direct influence changes in shape. For this reason, otoplasty is normally done to close the ear to the head, to correct the shape and ear “design”.

The student Marcos Vinícius Leite, 13, underwent otoplasty three years ago. To this student, the surgery made a radical change in his life. He told that during his childhood he suffered with the nicknames and only succeeded in not being so shy after he underwent the procedure. “I was so irritated with the nicknames and refused to go to school. It was horrible, I felt myself the ugliest in the school. Today, thanks God, I can live well with my colleagues and no longer suffer with those awful nicknames”, said the adolescent.

Adults  also look for correction
Although the target public for this kind of surgery is the children between 6 and 10 years of age, the procedure is also done among adults. According to the plastic surgeon and member of the Brazilian Plastic Surgery Association, Márcio Motta, the person who wants to undergo otoplasty should first be evaluated clinically and from laboratory tests to determine if the patient is in condition to undergo surgery and esthetic procedure.

The specialist adds that in the case of adults, heart tests may be needed. “In the first consultation, the surgeon evaluates the size, the symmetry, the consistence and the shape of the ears. Next, he takes photographs for further comparison. The anesthesia may be local or general”, explains the surgeon, adding that the method choice should always be in agreement with the anesthetist and it should  take into consideration the size of surgery, the clinical and psychological conditions and the age of patient. “In general, children receive general anesthesia and adults local, with or without  sedation”, he explained.

Motta clarifies that the pre-surgery care may vary according to the extent of the effected procedures. According to him, there will be always more swelling in the first two days after the procedure and that this will gradually diminish. The outer suture is removed between six and eight days after the surgery and in general this time is enough to the patient come back to his social and work activities. “It is important to point out that tissue cicatrization and accommodation in its new place takes more time. At least three months are required to note the final result from treatment”, says the specialist.
 
Source: correiodabahia.com.br