Surgery erases a lifetime of heavy earrings stretching your earlobes
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Most of us get our ears pierced as kids. By the time we're adults, our earlobes begin to droop and even rip all the way through from wearing heavy earrings.
Christy Tran is one of those women. She couldn't wear earrings in her first holes because of a tear in her right ear.
"It was ripped out when I was 17. It got snagged on a blanket and just ripped it right out," said Tran.
To make do, she re-pierced her lobes right above the original holes.
"Ever since then, I've been wearing hoops - small, little huggy hoops to cover it up," added Tran.
She decided she wanted to wear small and dangle earrings again and show her ears off.
"It's embarrassing. You can't tuck your hair behind your ear," Tran said.
She visited Houston facial plastic surgeon Dr. Sanaz Harichian for earlobe repair, which Harichian says is a common request, usually because of earlobe piercings.
"Over time, the hole stretches and their piercing hangs a lot lower than it used to. They can't wear earrings like they used to," said Harichian.
"There's a second reason women get earlobe repairs, and that has to do with the aging process. A lot of women find that with time, their earlobes have elongated and just stretched," added Harichian. "I think most people don't know that there is a really easy solution."
Harichian recommends an earlobe repair.
"I mark the ear and numb it with some injections just like you're at the dentist. I excise a small strip of skin which has the ear piercing and I sew it back up, and we take the stitches out one week later," she explained.
"Typically, it takes about 15 minutes from start to finish per ear," said Harichian.
Six weeks later, Tran came back in for her ear piercings and is ecstatic with the results.
"I'm excited, I'm just glad I finally got it done. I don't have two earlobes over here. I'm excited I can wear earrings again. It's a good thing," said Tran.
Earlobe repair costs $300 per ear.
