The Torn Ear Lobe is a very common but annoying problem that the Indian womenfolks face! What is interesting is that many of them occur just with the weight of the earring and reasons like trauma or sudden accidental pull are less common. So this is more common in the older women than the younger ones. The problem that the surgeon faces in dealing with this issue is not the surgery itself! But the complications after the surgery.

So here are few points to keep in mind as a patient who undergoes this surgery.

1) following surgery ,make sure proper hygeine is maintained in the wound site, your doctor might ask to keep it open (usually) after the 1st or 2nd dressing. During this time kindly wash with soap and water and apply the ointment recommended by your surgeon. This will prevent any infection of the suture line and make sure healing is good

2) the suture removal is to be delayed more than 10 days. Ideally till 14 days! Being a soft area of the face, the skin needs a lot of support for it to heal adequately before we remove the external supports , in the form of sutures 

3) ideal time for the scar to heal and become strong enough is 3 months. So no matter what technique was used. Do not wear any earring for atleast 3 months. In case of complications like infection or wound gapping you might want to postpone even more than 3 months! 

.4) regular scar massage using moisturising lotion or even a simple coconut oil 3 to 5 times a day after the suture line heals will help in strengthening the scar tissue 

And finally coming to the surgery part 

The usual method of cutting the two sides of the torn ear and suturing in a straight line (as shown in the image) is not ideal! I personally do not recommend this method because the earring will be placed right above this scar and with time the scar can tear and you might end up with a torn lobe, again! I

Straight lin closure of the torn ear lobe 

So I personally use the pardue technique which has the following advantages 

1) the hole is created at the time of surgery and hence no need to get the ear pierced again after 3 months

2) the hole is created with a small triangle of skin flap and hence more stronger than a straight line closure.. the earring will lie above this skin flap and not over the scar tissue, hence the change of tearing your ear lobe is less

3) the pardue technique is usually combines with multiple Z plasty below it, and hence a better contural of the entire lobe is achieved , compared to conventional technique.

So the next time you need a surgery for torn ear lobe ., consider these suggestions and get the best results from your surgeon as well as the surgery 

So