Background: The ear is essentially fully grown by around age none and is close to 60mms in vertical length. (slight less in women and slightly more in men) Unlike the rest of the ear above it, the earlobe has no cartilage and is composed of flexible skin and fat. The size of the earlobe is usually around 20mms or about 1/3 of the total vertical length of the ear.
There are many variations in the size and shape of the earlobes. Earlobes are often perceived as being either free or attached, but earlobes can also vary greatly in size. Some people are born with very small earlobes that have a scant lobule appearance. Their vertical height is significantly under the 1/3 relationship to the rest of the ear and may be as small as just 1 cm or less.
Earlobe augmentation or vertical lengthening is an infrequently requested aesthetic procedure. Making the earlobes longer is possible because they are not constrained by rigid cartilage inside its skin. Methods to enlarge them include injectable fillers, fat injections, dermal-fat grafts and cartilage graft inserts. A good first treatment is to place temporary injectable filler to see if one likes the effect created.
Case Study: This 22 year-old male wanted to have more prominent earlobes. He felt they were too small for the size of his ear. It was discussed with him that injectable fillers should be initially placed as a reversible treatment method and see if he liked the change created.
Under a local anesthetic earlobe block, each earlobe was injected with .4ccs of Juvederm filler. Filler was added in increments with the patient checking in s mirror so the earlobes did get overfilled.
If he decides to opt for permanent earlobe lengthening later, his option include fat injections or placing a small dermal fat graft from a small incision on the back of the earlobe.
Case Highlights:
1) Injectable fillers have a wide variety of uses for soft tissue augmentation, including the earlobes.
2) Earlobe rejuvenation and lengthening can be done by injectable filler to help correct an atrophic earlobe or to lengthen a short one.
3) Injectable fillers for earlobe lengthening can be an initial test to see if the changes are acceptable before proceeding to more permanent and invasive procedures.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana