The Road to Recovery

[docc]

You may be groggy from the anesthetic and/or oral medications and probably won't remember much of the first day or two. You will have to take it easy and sleep on two pillows to keep your head elevated for 7-14 days - or however long your surgeon suggests. When you wake up you feel that your wars are throbbing or tender. But, as the days go on the swelling and pain will dissipate. There may be bruising although you will not see it as you will still have your protective dressing on. This swelling and tenderness will go away, as well. So make a mental note of this or you may be shocked into a depression. Bruising and swelling are a normal occurrence in most surgeries.

The recovery for Otoplasty is pretty minimal. Although one must be very careful not to disturb the ear and head bandages. This may be especially difficult in children as they tend to fidget. The ears may sting, throb and ache for a week and may may latent stinging or itching during the healing process. You should be able to alleviate this discomfort with your prescribed pain medications. If you have excessive pain, redness, pus or other symptoms that do not appear normal, contact your surgeon immediately! Take your temperature regularly. An elevated temperature could mean an infection. Take those antibiotics on time. Also, don't forget if you are a female taking birth control pills that some antibiotics can interfere so in the event that you do have relations, use another form of protection as well.

The surgeon will have wrapped your head in bandages to mold and apply pressure to your ears to protect them and aid in healing. These bandages will be removed in about 5-10 days. Do not get them wet, with your head elevated and take care not to touch the ears whatsoever. Your surgeon will then cleanse your incisions and apply a light gauze dressing to further aid in its healing and end result as well as to protect the wound. These dressings will be removed in a few more days and your surgeon will instruct you in the care of your newly formed ears.

Even though you may feel better, you must take it easy for the first 3 weeks. Be careful not to bend over or lift heavy objects. And be careful not to raise the blood pressure for at least 3 weeks as this could cause internal bleeding at your treatment area. Your blood vessels dilate to allow increased blood flow when you raise your heart rate. This may cause problems at internal wound sites. Do not participate in contact sports for at least 6-8 weeks - although ask your surgeon what he recommends specifically.

You may notice odd sensations of "tightness", tingling, the sporadic sharp pain, or "pulling", burning, and cold sensations. These usually subside within the first few weeks. Some patients experience a "lull" or down period where they become depressed or feel unattractive. This is very normal.