Ear surgery, technically known as Otoplasty, is a cosmetic procedure corrects abnormal protrusion of the ears.  While it’s commonly performed for children, adults will often choose to undergo otoplasty as well.  Of the several established techniques your plastic surgeon can use, each will generally involve an incision behind the ear and reshaping of the ear cartilage.

Plastic surgeons in Lithuania recently studied the success rate of different suture types used in Otoplasty.  A 3-year study was conducted with 100 patients.  They were divided into these groups based on the suture materials chosen:

• PDS
• Monocryl
• Mersilene

Patients (48 men and 52 women) had a median age of 20 years.  After analyzing the data for each group, the doctors found that 3 patients in the PDS group and 3 patients in the Monocryl group had unsatisfactory aesthetic outcomes requiring revision surgery.  Patients in the Mersilene suture group had the lowest rate of recurrence.

Read more about this study online on PubMed: “Comparison of otoplasty outcomes using different types of suture materials”