Protruding ears (prominent ears)

Pro­tru­ding ears, medi­cal­ly known as pro­mi­nent ears (apo­sta­sis otum), are ears that stand out from the head at a noti­ce­ab­ly wider ang­le than usu­al. They are a com­mon and harm­less varia­ti­on in shape.

Cau­ses

The cau­se is almost always con­ge­ni­tal and often runs in fami­lies. Usual­ly the typi­cal fold of the ear car­ti­la­ge (anti­he­lix) is miss­ing or only weak­ly for­med. Alter­na­tively, the who­le ear may be too lar­ge or the car­ti­la­ge bowl par­ti­cu­lar­ly deep.

Sym­ptoms

Pro­tru­ding ears cau­se no phy­si­cal sym­ptoms. Child­ren and teen­agers in par­ti­cu­lar, howe­ver, can be bad­ly affec­ted by teasing, and many adults also find the fea­ture bothersome.

Tre­at­ment

The effec­ti­ve tre­at­ment is oto­plasty, in which the car­ti­la­ge is res­haped through an incis­i­on behind the ear and set clo­ser to the head. It is pos­si­ble from around five to six years of age, when the ear has lar­ge­ly finis­hed gro­wing. A head­band is then worn for a few weeks. In new­borns, spe­cial splints can mould the still-soft cartilage.

Matching tre­at­ment at Swiss Der­ma Cli­nic: Oto­plasty