Many women come to my office complaining that their pierced ear holes have torn all the way through their earlobe.  Other times the hole is just so stretched out or enlarged that earrings or studs do not hang or stand properly.

It is a very simple matter to repair these problems in the office with a small surgical procedure using local anesthesia.  Depending on the presenting defect, the earlobe will be numbed with local anesthesia and the defect will be excised to get fresh earlobe edges to suture together.  The earlobe will then be neatly sutured together completely obliterating the old pierced hole.  You will leave the office wearing on band aide on the earlobes.  I will give you a prescription for a mild narcotic pain medicine.  Most women do not even require this medicine because the repair is not very sore at all.  You can shower the next morning, soapy water will not harm the sutures.

I will take out the sutures in seven days.  You must wait 2 months before you have your ears re-pierced.  They must be re-pierced carefully taking into consideration the location of your repair scars.  The estheticians at Young and Healthy Skin, our Total Skin Care Center next door, have the sterile ear piercing system and have experience with doing the procedure on earlobes that have been repaired.

This is never an insurance covered repair, it is considered cosmetic surgery.

Click here to visit the Ear Piercing page on the Young and Healthy Skin website.

© 2005 Gordon M. Telepun, MD

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