Many moms opt for otoplasty to prevent bullying

School bullying has been making headlines lately in an effort to raise awareness of its horrific results, such as self-abuse and suicide. These days, homosexuality and obesity are noted as the most common causes for bullying. But children with physical deformities, such as a cleft palette or lop ears, get their fair share of teasing as well.

To avoid emotional turmoil and other consequences, many parents have brought their children into a doctor's office for otoplasty to repair and reshape the child's ear to look more normal.

Children can have the procedure done as young 4 years old, giving the children a chance to adjust their appearance before entering kindergarten. At this time, the ear is fully developed and doctors consider it a minor and safe procedure.

Many would argue that children this young are not even old enough to be aware of the fact that they have anything to be self-conscious about. Furthermore, it could be argued that putting the child through a cosmetic procedure to fix something that is supposedly "wrong" with them could backfire and cause the same type of emotional turmoil that bullying in school could. It would be hurtful to realize that you have a face that not even a mother could love.

But children can be cruel, and having the procedure done at the youngest age possible would mean the child would be less likely to remember the pain or awkwardness of the situation. Additionally, doctors say it is better to operate on young ears because their cartilage is more easily shaped than the hardened cartilage found in an adult's ears.

For certain inheritable traits, such as protruding ears, the parent has already experienced the societal hardships that come with an unusual physical characteristic. Many adults claim they wish that their parents had brought them in for an otoplasty before throwing them out into the world to be bullied. After being taunted with names like "Dumbo" and "big ears" for so many years, they just want to protect their precious children.

But what does otoplasty entail? And how much pain and recovery is involved?

Otoplasty is typically nothing more than the reshaping and/or removing of some of the cartilage in the ear. There are many specific techniques for the various kinds of deformities, but most surgeries involve a few common things. For misshapen ears, the cartilage is remolded after an incision is made in the skin. For protruding ears, which are caused by excess cartilage, some of the cartilage will be removed to bring the ear back in closer to the head.

After the operation, a thick bandage is wrapped around the whole head. This is to ensure the ears stay in place, heal correctly, and do not get hurt or damaged. After one week, the first bandage and stitches can be removed and the child can begin to return to his or her normal activities. Soreness or bruising may remain until the patient has fully recovered after about six weeks.