Recently on Dr. David Benvenuti's website, he shared an article on how he has been able to reverse ear gauges in several young patients. While the practice of "gaging" maybe trendy now, it results in a deformity of the earlobe called ptosis.
Some people stretch the holes out to incredible sizes, sometimes with plugs that are the width of a wine cork or even a soda can. "It is not infrequent in my practice that young patients, often urged by their parents, change their minds about this gauging process and request closure of the large hole," he wrote, adding that reversing the gauging holes can be a complicated ear surgery.
"A new self-inflicted earlobe defect (gauging) presents a reconstructive challenge," he wrote. "A long pedicle-rotation flap allows shortening of the overlengthened earlobe with closure of the defect and minimal narrowing of the earlobe."
Dr. Benvenuti, who practices in Newport Beach, described how he was able to help a 21-year-old female patient with a 7-year history of enlarging ear piercings that resulted in a 3cm hole. The young woman stopped wearing earrings for 6 weeks before undergoing surgery.
"Under local anesthesia, the edges of the earlobe defect were freshened," Dr. Benvenuti wrote, adding that a pedicle-rotation flap was then designed and based laterally.
