Medicare only supports the cost of surgery if you are under 18 years of age, and you have suffered psychological trauma because of the appearance of your ears. Once you are given a medicare item number you can then apply to your private health fund for further financial support.

The ears are wrapped up in cotton wool and the head is covered with a crepe dressing. The dressing stays on for approximately one week so kids will need this time off school. Adult patients may be able to work from home. It is very important not to put your fingers under the dressing because you could cause an infection. As humans we often have staph and strep germs under our fingernails.

Very few patients need pain relief after the first day but the dressing is hot and sometimes itchy. Antihistamines may be helpful to reduce the sensation of itch.

The dressing is removed with eucalyptus oil after one week. The results can be seen straight away.

For the first month you will need to use a cream to cleanse the skin wound when the skin is slightly moist after your shower or bath.

It is best to have a quiet life while the dressing is on. If you keep your heart rate and blood pressure relatively normal there is a reduced risk of a haematoma or bloodstained ooze. When the bandage is removed it is fine to play sport as long as it is not a form of contact sport. Most kids and adults will need to wait 6 weeks before playing contact sports such as football. The ears will only hurt if you touch them roughly. Swimming is not allowed until the skin wound has healed. This normally takes 3 weeks.

Dr Dunlop will suggest placing a headband over the ears at bedtime for the first month. This protects the ears from bending backwards when you roll over in bed.

• Bleeding or Haematoma– so no Nurofen, Vitamins or Fish Oil two weeks pre op and post op.
• Infection – most patients will be given a week of Keflex as an antibiotic.
• Scarring – you should let Dr Dunlop know if you tend to form thick scars or keloids. This predisposition could make the ear prominent again.
• Rarely sutures can partially extrude through the skin over a period of years. These can be trimmed in the office.
• Small amounts of asymmetry are present in all patients though we rarely notice because we are all asymmetrical in every paired structure in our bodies. None of us are a mirror image, particularly in the face. Despite this, revision rates for Otoplasty surgery are very low.

Otoplasty surgery will be somewhere between $7000 and $10000 depending on whether you have a Medicare item number and health insurance. The three main components are:

1. The surgical fee (approx. $6,500).
2. The anaesthetic fee (approx. $1500 to $3500) varies due to the time taken for the operation and the anaesthetist that was chosen.
3. The cost of hospitalisation can vary from patient to patient, and we encourage you to contact your health fund and confirm your coverage. You may have an excess plus incidental costs of around $200 covers for pharmaceutical medicines and disposable items in the operating theatre.

If you don’t have health insurance, you will pay approx. $3570 to $6,000 for the use of the operating theatre, hospital bed and nursing care. This fee is payable to the hospital on the day of admission. If you do not qualify for a Medicare item number, there is no Medicare rebate. No Medicare rebate also means your health insurance will not cover you for all fees associated with the surgeon, anaesthetist, or hospital admission. Medicare only gives item numbers for otoplasty to children up to the age of 18 if they have been teased about their prominent ears.