You may have stretched and even damaged your earlobes by wearing heavy, dangling earrings. Or you may have torn an earlobe in an accident, or gotten a keloid scar as a result of a simple ear piercing.

 

Earlobe repair can "refresh" and suture together the edges of your damage or tear. It's a relatively common procedure that can be performed under local anesthesia on an outpatient basis.

 

After the anesthetic wears off, you may feel mild pain for a day or so. You'll need to keep the sutured area clean to reduce the potential for infection. Sutures are generally removed after 7 to 10 days.

 

You can safely pierce your ears again 2 to 6 months after repair. If bothersome keloid scars form within the new piercings, you can get them treated by injection or surgical excision.