Repairing Gauged or "Stretched" Earlobes

Physicians and professional piercers agree that over the last six years, plastic surgery on enlarged earlobes has become common enough to earn a name: Earlobeplasty.
   Earlobeplasty is still new, but the doctors at Ponte Vedra Plastic Surgery have been doing it for several years now. We see this more commonly over the last several years as this age group is moving into the workforce. A regular ear piercing can be widened into a tunnel, or fistula, using cone-shaped tapers, or by inserting larger plugs every few weeks, or wrapping Teflon tape around the plug to steadily increase the diameter. Guinness World Records says a Hawaiian body modification artist, Kala Kaiwi, has lobe holes more than four inches in diameter. Stretching has risks, warns the Association of Professional Piercers. These include infections, tears, and "blowouts," in which overstretched tissue at the back of the fistula curls inside out. In many cultures, giant bejeweled earlobes are marks of beauty, nobility, bravery, or wisdom. (The Buddha is often depicted with stretched lobes.) In our modern Western cultures, not so much. If you feel ashamed of your stretched, torn, or ugly earlobes, give us a call to schedule a consultation for earlobe reduction or repair surgery. Check out our video online.