If your child suffers from a congenital birth defect that makes their ears look different from normal, it is time to look at the available surgical procedures. Microtia does not have to be left untreated, as even young children can fix the issue.
If your child has ears that look too small for the head, are misshapen, or appear to be positioned oddly, there is help. These days, with all the available surgical procedures, microtia does not have to go untreated. Allow your loved one to grow up with confidence and without the constant worry over whether peers will make fun of the appearance of their ears. Consider some of the possible types of surgery available to solve the issue.
One of the easiest solutions is using a prosthetic ear to make the area look more typical, but this solution is not suited for everyone. Most adults do fine with this kind of fix, since they do not have a problem cleaning and taking care of it. However, some children balk at using the silicone attachment since they do not look forward to caring for it properly. Only children over the age of six should be considered for this solution, and even then, it should be given only to those who are eager to care for it properly since it is custom made and therefore not cheap.
If you are not sure that your child wants a prosthetic ear, it is time to check out more permanent surgical procedures. Microtia is often solved by taking cartilage from the ribs and placing it on either side of the head. It is then sculpted into ears in order to make the area look normal. Clearly, it involves a good amount of surgery since removing cartilage from any body part can take hours alone, and transferring it to the head takes even more time and expertise. In fact, most doctors require patients to be at least eight years old to undergo this surgery since the rib cage needs to be large enough to spare some cartilage. However, this is the most typical route when it comes to fixing ears that are too small or misshapen.
If you are serious about allowing your child to grow up without dealing with the issues that come with deformed ears, you should consider the main surgical procedures. Microtia might seem like a big deal at first, but it can be solved with modern medicine, and at quite a young age, too. The surgery available ensures that your child does not have to go through life being picked on for having a congenital defect. Instead, you can help solve the issue early on by educating yourself and your loved one about the available procedures.
