The most common cause of torn earlobe is accidental tearing while wearing ear-rings or prolonged use of heavy ear-rings. They result in an enlarged or open earlobe hole, which cannot hold or fit the ear-rings. The defect may be repaired under local anaesthesia by refreshing the edges of the hole and suturing them together. Meticulous surgical technique, good haemostasis and surgical repair are essential to achieve primary healing and retaining the shape of the earlobe. In most cases, the earholes are fully closed and a new earhole is created at a new location next to the repair after 3 months. Sometime the ear hole may be preserved using a flap rotation technique.
The procedure takes about 1 hour under local anaesthesia. The recovery time is about 1 week.
