More people needing earlobe surgery for wearing heavy earrings

Published on May 9, 2008 - 7:28:42 AM

By: Baylor Health Care System

May 9, 2008 - They're definitely in style,but according to doctors, heavy earrings can be a dangerous fashion accessory from which more and more women are seeking surgery.

At first, patients with tears in their earlobes from wearing heavy earrings are told to simply stop wearing them in order to let the lobe heal on its own, but often that doesn't work.

"Just removing the earring often times does not allow the hole to close because that has become a mature tract," says Richard Ha, plastic surgeon on the medical staff at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas. "Fortunately, there's a relatively simple solution to the problem."

According to plastic surgeons, it's becoming more and more popular for patients to get their lobes surgically repaired.

"It's a pretty simple procedure actually. It probably takes about 30 minutes to an hour in the office under local anesthesia," explains Dr. Ha.

After the tear is fixed, it will need several weeks to completely heal.

Surgical repair of torn earlobes can vary between $300 and $1,500 depending on how severe the tear is and whether or not you need one or both earlobes done.

If you love wearing heavy earrings -- but don't want to end up needing surgery one day -- you may want to consider using some of the over-the-counter earlobe support products to help prevent tears.

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