After the surgery

How will my dressing be after the surgery?

At the end of your surgery, a special multi-layered dressing will be applied to your ears. This dressing will have a specific tightness to protect your ears and reduce the possibility of swelling and bruising during the post-operative period. To prevent the accumulation of blood in your ear and facilitate the drainage of blood, a rubber-like drain is placed in the surgical area. As a result, the gauze in your dressing may become stained with blood. This is a normal occurrence and should not cause concern. We remove this dressing and replace it with a bandana 1-2 days after the surgery.

Which medications will I use after the surgery?

After the surgery, unless there is a special condition due to allergy or another reason, we prescribe two types of painkillers to our patients, Parol (paracetamol) and Arveles (dexketoprofen), as well as Enfla-C Capsules (bromelain, quercetin, and vitamin C) to reduce swelling and bruising.

Will I experience pain?

The effect of the anesthetic injection used during the surgery often continues for a few hours after the operation. The level of pain experienced afterward varies greatly. There are a few patients who report no pain at all. A very small number of patients may complain of extreme pain. However, the majority of my patients typically report having some level of pain that is either completely alleviated, reduced, or becomes tolerable with the use of pain relievers. I would expect this level of pain in an average patient. However, pain perception and thresholds can vary greatly on a very personal level.

When can I take a shower?

You can take a shower from the neck down on the day of your surgery. You can wash your hair one day after the removal of your dressing during your first check-up. You can wash your hair as you normally would, but avoid letting very hot water come into contact with your ears. Detailed information regarding wound care can be found below.

How should I sleep after the surgery?

After the surgery, we will recommend that you sleep on your back for three weeks, especially during the first two days. You can use one or two extra pillows under your head to maintain a slightly elevated position. Some patients may be concerned about sleeping on their ears. I explain to these patients that while sleeping on the ears applying too much pressure can potentially have a negative impact. However, it’s important to note that excessive pressure will also cause discomfort and pain, prompting the patient to naturally turn onto their back during sleep, thereby avoiding any potential issues with sleeping on their ears.

When will my first post-operative appointment be?

You will need to come for a check-up to have your dressing removed one or two days after your surgery. The date for your check-up will have been communicated to you on the day of the surgery. During this check-up, the dressing on your head will be removed, which is a relatively painless procedure. In fact, the removal of the dressing should bring you relief. After the dressing is removed, the drain at the back of your ear is taken out, and if there is a stitched tampon in place, it will be cut and removed. The suture sites on your ear will be cleaned with iodine solution. It is normal to have small oozing in the form of a few drops during these stages, and it will stop on its own. Unless instructed otherwise, there won’t be any more sutures to be removed after this dressing.

Afterward, we will position you in front of a mirror to show you your ears. It’s possible that there may be some swelling and redness in your ears, which can vary from person to person. The likelihood of bruising is low due to the stitched tampon we placed during the surgery, but we still observe it in some patients. For these reasons, you should be prepared to see a slightly different shape of your ears compared to what you saw during the surgery; your ears may appear larger and more protruding. Due to variations in the amount of swelling between the two ears, they may appear somewhat asymmetric after the surgery.

On the first day, as a precaution against the possibility of some serum or blood seepage from behind the ear, we will place a gauze pad behind your ear and apply a bandana to cover your ears. You can remove this gauze pad the next day. Afterward, you won’t need to place anything behind your ear.

“How do I take care of the wound site?

Starting one day after the dressing is removed, we will ask you to wash your ears with water daily. You should wash your hair as usual daily, but we will recommend avoiding very hot water. At this stage, don’t worry if the soap or shampoo you use comes into contact with the ear area; it won’t cause any problems. After rinsing your hair, depending on the width of the space behind your ear, we will ask you to use your fingertips or a cotton swab to wash the incision site behind your ear with water. Your task will be to remove any crusts or debris that may have accumulated there. During your first check-up, we will show you how and how much you can touch your ears. Sometimes, patients avoid touching or allowing water to come into contact with the area where the incision is, as they fear they might cause harm. However, following our instructions and cleaning the area with water only will promote a faster and smoother healing of your wound. Unless we specify otherwise for your specific case, we do not want you to clean your wound site with iodine solution, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, or anything else. Additionally, you should avoid applying hot air from a hairdryer to your ears after taking a shower.

Will I have any stitches to be removed?

We typically do not use visible stitches that need to be removed in most prominent ear cases; your stitches are placed under the skin and are not visible, and they dissolve on their own.

However, in cases such as ear reduction, different interventions on the earlobe, or addressing a Darwin’s tubercle, we may use stitches that need to be removed. Such a situation would have already been discussed during the examination and the surgery. When there are stitches to be removed, we typically do this within 5-10 days. You will be informed about when the stitches will be removed at the end of the surgery.

How long do I need to wear the bandana?

We will provide you with the bandana, and we will apply it on the first dressing day. The purpose of this bandana is not to shape your ears by pressing them tightly but to protect your ears during the healing period. Tightening the bandana too much can have a negative impact on the surgical result. Therefore, your bandana will be quite loose; this is sufficient. While there are different opinions on the use of the bandana, I believe that wearing the bandana throughout the day for about 3-5 days and then wearing it at night for about 3 weeks can be beneficial.

When can I return to my daily life after the surgery?

It’s beneficial to rest for about 3-4 days after the surgery. You should be aware that it is a surgical procedure, and you need to give your body some time to heal. Afterward, you can gradually start with simple daily activities.

You can find answers to many of your post-operative questions on the Frequently Asked Questions page.

When will my ears heal?

When your initial dressing is removed, you may experience some swelling in your ears. In some patients, we observe redness, while others may have bruising on their ears. The extent of this swelling, bruising, and redness varies significantly among patients. In most cases, these symptoms rapidly decrease within 7-10 days, and you can continue your social life with your ears exposed. However, for those who bruise easily or experience prolonged bleeding from minor injuries, the swelling and bruising can be more pronounced and may take up to three weeks to subside.

About 2-3 months after the surgery, a significant portion of the healing in the ears has already taken place. However, it is a general rule, as with most other surgeries, to say that the primary healing is completed after one year.

For an idea of how changes in your ears may occur over time, you can find below the post-operative improvements in some of our patients day by day. You can observe that there is a significant variation among patients in terms of swelling, redness, and bruising.

On the left, you can see the slight swelling and redness on the 2nd day after the surgery, while on the right, you can observe the condition at the 2nd month.

On the left, you can see the swelling, bruising, and redness on the 2nd day after the surgery, while on the right, you can observe the condition of the ear on the 7th day.

On the left, you can see the condition on the 2nd day after the surgery, in the middle, the swelling and bruising of the ear on the 7th day, and on the right, the condition 2 months after the surgery.

I am coming from another city/country. When can I travel?

In a standard prominent ear surgery, there usually isn’t a need for us to see the patient in the early post-operative period after the initial check-up, and there should be no problem with the patient traveling about 2 days after the surgery.

However, if a non-standard procedure has been performed or if there are stitches that need to be removed, you will be informed about this in advance.

When will my check-ups be?

After the initial post-operative check-up, we typically like to see patients once about 2 months after the surgery and again once after 1 year. These intervals may vary due to distances or other reasons.