Ear Reconstruction Recovery Time - What is the Recovery Period of Ear Surgery?

There are many reasons why someone would consider undergoing an ear reconstructive surgery including a birth defect or even a traumatizing injury. Regardless of the reasons for undergoing this ear reconstructive surgery the results are that the ear will end up looking normal and your self-esteem will become improved as well.

In the event that the ear to be reconstructed is that of a child's, the surgeon will usually ask that the child waits until the ear's cartilage is fully grown which means that the surgical procedure will have to wait until the child is 5 or 6 years old. The ear reconstruction surgery has also been around since the Egyptian times and it requires a steady and artistic surgeon to perform the surgery with success.

The recover process with regards to an ear reconstruction surgery can be lengthy. The surgeon will most likely be repairing part or all of an ear which means that layers of hairless skin will have to be found on the body elsewhere that has the same flexibility of the ear's skin. This is usually found in the upper thighs and the surgeon will end up shaving of a sizeable section to complete the surgery.

After the skin has been removed and grafted onto the ear, the surgeon will also need to find suitable replacement cartilage. In general the cartilage that will be used can be found in the ribcage and will need to be carefully cut so that not too much cartilage is taken away. This cartilage will then be attached to the ear's remaining cartilage if there is some.

All in all you will have a minimum of 3 places on the body which will have its own recovery process associated with it. You will have the missing layers of skin from the legs that will have to re-grow and even once they do the area may never look right again. You will also have the incision along the sternum of the ribcage from which the surgeon removed the necessary cartilage from. Last but not least you will have the cartilage fusion, skin grafting and incision recovery of the ear itself.

These locations combined means that more careful attention will have to be kept during the recovery process to prevent infection. While the missing skin will not be the biggest issue, it will be painful and burning. The rib incision from the removal of the needed cartilage will take some time to recover from since the ribcage is in a perpetual case of motion caused by the necessary requirement of life; breathing. The ear will need to be closely watched for any possible complications.