In this day and age, you can get almost anything nipped and tucked, including your ears.
For Cheryl Eberley, it’s part of her quest to age gracefully, and repair damage from years of wearing earrings.
“I don’t wear a lot of really big earrings, but I do like the big hoops and I do like to wear my hair back, so I want them to look nice,” says Eberley, who is choosing to have her earlobes surgically reduced.
Just like the rest of your face, your earlobes lose elasticity over time, and sag.
“It’s becoming more common because, in our culture, long earlobes are a sign of old age, shorter earlobes are more youthful. So, people who are becoming more conscious of looking youthful and feeling good, choose this kind of surgery,” says Dr. Kristina Zakhary, a Calgary facial plastic surgeon.
At the same time, Cheryl will have a torn ear piercing repaired, which ripped while removing clothing over her head.
“Earrings can be long and heavy and lengthen the earlobe, also earrings can tear the earlobe hole or the ear piercing, thus creating what we call a cleft ear,” says Dr. Zakhary.
The intricate surgery takes about an hour. In Cheryl’s case, her ears are shortened by 2-3 millimetres per side by removing a small triangle of skin where the ear attaches to the face.
The torn piercing is also repaired by splitting the earlobe into two, and then stitching it up again.
Six weeks later, the scars are unnoticeable, but Cheryl says the difference is clear.
“It’s made a huge impact. I feel so much better, and it is noticeable, even my friends noticed it,” she adds.
Cheryl says she won’t stop wearing long, dangly earrings, but she will try to be more careful, so her piercings don’t rip again.
As for saggy ears, Dr. Zakhary says it’s unlikely Cheryl will ever need to have them shortened again.
If you are interested in learning more about this procedure, you can visit
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