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Frequently asked questions
Are there long-term results of correcting ears with your method?
Our experience with the Dr. Merck Stitch method goes back 16 years.
An example from our clinic: the photo on the left was taken 2 months after the operation / the photo on the right was taken 12 years later.
Can I play sports after the procedure?
After the procedure, you may play any kind of sport with the exception of professional
wrestling. In wrestling, opponents grab and hold on to each other’s ears very
roughly, which may cause damage. Swimming and diving are OK as soon as the
small stitch points have healed and the small threads on the back side of the
ear have fallen off. This happens after 2-3 weeks in the majority of cases.
After the procedure can I shower / wash my hair and have a sauna bath?
After the procedure, you may bathe/shower from the neck down, without restriction. You may wash your hair again 2 days after the procedure. It doesn't matter if the ears get a little wet or if you get shampoo on them as the stitch points will already have encrusted and dried up just a few hours after the procedure. Small crusts of blood that form immediately after the procedure should be left as a natural protective layer. These may then be softened wiThu water and wiped off with a clean cloth 1 week after the procedure. If the blood crusts bother you, they can be removed a few days earlier. Straight after the operation, you can comb long hair over your ears, or if you have a short haircut, you can wear a headband over your ears, so that the crusts of blood are not visible.
You may have a sauna or visit a solarium 3-4 weeks after the procedure.
Will my ears be swollen after the procedure and how long will the swelling last?
It cannot be avoided that the corrected ears will slightly swell after the procedure. The swelling is, however, not nearly as great as with the traditional methods. The swelling normally lasts for 3 days; from the 4th day onwards, it is significantly reduced and within 1 week after the operation, the swelling is normally gone. Only in exceptional cases does it remain after this time.
Will I have a head bandage or plaster/band-aid?
After the procedure, the patient returns home without a head bandage or plaster/band-aid. Only small children will need to wear a bandage (after the parents have approved the results of the operation) for one day, because it has been observed that children like to tug on their ears with hands that are not always so clean.
How long and why must I wear a headband?
We recommend that you wear a headband only at night for 4 weeks after the procedure. This headband should not be too tight. The headband does not actually hold the ear since the ear is held sufficiently in its new position by the threads beneath the skin. The headband is intended only to protect against the possibility that the ear could be pressed into the pillow and away from the head for hours at a time.
Does the stitch have to be removed?
No. The non-visible, tissue-compatible Goretex thread, which is sunk deeply in the ear, remains in the ear permanently. Additional, superficial stitches from the procedure on the fold of the back side of the ear do not need to be taken out. They are dissolvable and self-removing after 2-3 weeks.
How will I know if I cannot tolerate the thread (if I have a ‘thread incompatibility’)?
In the case of intolerance, or thread incompatibility, the thread would move to the surface of the skin and become exposed. The thread (Goretex) used for the procedure is an exceptionally tissue-compatible material, which is also used by vascular surgeons to sew up blood vessels. Depending on the location of the vessel, one would never open the abdominal- or chest cavity to remove the thread. For the same reason, these threads may also remain in the ear forever. Should it, in rare cases, come to a thread incompatibility, the patient would need to return to our clinic to have the exposed thread removed and, if necessary, a new thread inserted in replacement. If an exposed thread is not removed, inflammation may develop around it.
Do I need to return for a check-up after the procedure?
No, because there is no need for follow-up treatment.
Will the stitches be necessary to hold the ears forever?
We
believe, that the stitches are not necessary to hold the ears forever, because
the cartilage will probably reshape itself one day. The example of nuns
demonstrates this. Nuns who have worn their headpieces long enough have ears
that lie completely flat against their heads. This proves that ear cartilage
reshapes itself - if you force the ears back long enough, they assume a new
position. You can put it this way: what the nun’s headpiece does for nuns, the
non-absorbable thread does for our patients. The only difference is that with
the “Merck Stitch Method” the ears are not flattened completely against the head,
but brought into a natural position.
Can the thread break?
No, the thread is unbreakable.
How can you achieve a position of the ears that is the same on both sides?
We have noted, that patients want to have their ears pinned as symmetrically as possible. One should know, nevertheless, that normal non-protruding ears are rarely naturally symmetrical. Even the face is not symmetrical, and the ears are a part of the face. In a publicised study, hundreds of non-protruding ears were measured and the result was, that the average difference between both ears, when comparing ear-to-head distances, was 2 mm. Despite that, we pin the ears as symmetrically as possible and the patient can check this with a hand-held mirror. However, the ears can move outwards a few millimetres after the operation and this doesn’t always occur symmetrically. As long as this doesn’t result in protruding ears again, there is no sense in correcting them again, because it is well-known and proven by photo composition, that a slightly asymmetrical face looks more interesting to an observer than a totally symmetrical one.
There are also surgeons that have written about the subject of symmetry : „ The aim of otoplasty is not to achieve a complete symmetrical conformity of both ears. That is unnatural, whereas an. individual asymmetry is natural “.
May I put a motorcycle helmet on after the procedure?
Yes. When you put your helmet on, you should of course ensure that your ear is not bent outwards.
Do I need to make sure that my ear is not moved after the procedure?
Even immediately after the procedure, you can do everything with the ear that you would normally do with an ear that has not been operated on. Some examples: you can sleep on the ear that has been operated on; this even relieves the thread. A hairdresser may move your ear normally while washing and cutting your hair. The threads used in the procedure tolerate all of this without any problems.
Will I be in pain after the procedure?
There are some patients, including children, whose pain is so slight that they need no pain medication. It is, however, more usual to experience pain after the operation, that usually lasts for an average of 1-2 days. Only in exceptional cases does the pain continue for longer than 2 days. We always prescribe painkillers and provide instructions on how to treat the pain with them.
Can the Stitch Method change the shape of the ear?
An ear-pinning operation, whether performed with a traditional method or with our method, cannot change the anatomy of an ear. It can only change its position relating to the head. The ear outer edge is not changed. If, for example, the ear outer edge has a curved form tilting forwards, which is a relatively common occurrence in the upper third of the ears, or if the ear outer edge has a tiny bump in a certain area, called Darwin’s Tubercle, then these particular anatomical characteristics will remain after the operation. This makes sense, because each ear is individually unique and should remain so.
This page was last updated 16 November 2011