Prominent Ear Surgery with Anchor Technique

What is Anchor Technique?

Ear lobe deformities are amongst the most common problems which cause a loss of confidence. There are many surgical techniques used to correct these deformities, some of the most widely used ones being the Ear Lobe Suspension Technique and the Classical Technique, both of which I have played a part in popularizing in my country. As one of the frequent practitioners of ear aesthetic surgeries in my country, I would like to share with you my experience and the pros and cons of these techniques, including the ÇAPA Technique that I have developed based on my experiences.

The sling technique is quite practical, however, in my experience it is only suitable for 10-15% of patients. When applied to patients with appropriate clinical findings, it can be used with very high success rates, but when applied to those with inappropriate clinical findings, the result is usually failure. Therefore, I only use this technique for patients with appropriate clinical findings.

The classic method is the surgical technique, which can be applied to all these patients, however the recovery period after the surgery may be slightly longer compared to the Sling Technique.

When all these details are taken into consideration, it has become necessary to create a different surgical method by taking the advantages of these two methods. As a surgeon who performs thousands of ear aesthetic surgeries, the practicality and fast healing of the Loop Suture Method and the high success rate of the Classic Method have been included in this new method, forming the CAPA Technique in ear aesthetics. Therefore, by applying the CAPA Technique in the patients we operated on, we achieved fast healing, low redness-swelling and bruising rates, no surgical marks on the back of the ear or very low risk of it, unnoticeable suture materials, short-term use of hair band and most importantly, high success rates.

Surgical Technique

The CATCH technique is applied using local anesthesia, like other methods. If the patient is younger than 12, or if specifically requested, general anesthesia can be used. This technique is applied from the age of 6 at the earliest. Local anesthesia is used to numb the back of the ear, and a small incision is made on the skin. After the cartilage is made visible, stitches in a fishing net pattern are used to shape the cartilage structure and pull it back. The incision made on the skin is then closed with self-dissolving, hidden stitches and no stitches need to be taken out. Antibiotic-soaked gauzes are placed in the ear and the ear is covered with a hair bandage. Since the bandaging is not done in the classic bandage style, there is no unsightly visible result. Depending on the progress of the surgery, the bandage is opened within 1-3 days (usually 2 days later) and the ear is left open. The patient is allowed to wash their hair and come into contact with water in the area of the surgery. Afterwards, the hair bandage is only used while sleeping for 2 weeks.

The purpose of using a headband in the ÇAPA technique is to prevent you from unintentionally damaging your ears and surgery during sleep. Using the headband for months won’t fix a poorly done surgery and won’t do you any good besides causing you trouble. When the dressing is removed, swelling and redness in your ears is usually seen and will pass within 5-7 days. 95% of the time no bruising will be observed, however if present, it will pass within 7-10 days. Most importantly, this technique has a very high success rate, we can almost say 99%. This essentially means that you won’t need a second surgery. Let’s say you do need a second surgery, a revision surgery, in that case we will kindly offer to perform the surgery without charging you anything and make you happy again.

Who is Suitable for Anchor Technique?

In our first articles, we discussed that only 15% of patients with ear deformities were suitable for the sling technique, and this could only be determined by examining the patient, even if photographs roughly gave an idea. Of course, this was a handicap for our patients from outside the city and country. The CAPA Technique is eliminating this handicap significantly, and it can be applied to all patients, regardless of the examination findings.