What ear surgery involves, step by step: the day, the anaesthetic and what you feel

It is day-case surgery lasting around 90 minutes, after which you go home the same day, wearing a headband that protects the area and holds the new shape. A dressing is usually not applied: only in certain particular cases. There is no overnight stay.

What changes depending on who is being operated on is the anaesthetic: in older teenagers and adults, local anaesthetic, with or without sedation; in young children, a general anaesthetic, simply because it is not realistic to ask a six-year-old to lie still and co-operate for an hour and a half. This page describes the day from the inside, which is what almost nobody explains.

What the surgery corrects, with which technique and with what risks is in the otoplasty guide. Here we describe what it is like to go through.

The day of the operation, hour by hour

• Before leaving home. Fasting as instructed by the anaesthetic team — an instruction given in writing and not to be improvised — a shower, clean hair and no products. Comfortable clothes that open at the front: afterwards you will be wearing a band around your head and you will not want to pull a jumper off over it. And the headband, which you bring yourself (see below). No earrings, no make-up, no contact lenses.
• Arrival and preparation. Details are checked, the consent form is gone over and anything outstanding is signed. You change clothes and any lines are placed if appropriate.
• The marking. The surgeon draws the surgical plan on the ear, with the patient sitting up and the head straight: this is the moment when exactly how much is folded, and where, is decided. It is not a formality; it is part of the operation.
• Theatre. Around 90 minutes. The appropriate anaesthetic is given, the cartilage is worked on — folded with internal sutures and, when the case calls for it, weakened in a controlled way — and it is closed with fine sutures.
• Afterwards. A period of observation with the headband already on, written instructions and the prescribed painkillers. How long that observation lasts depends on the anaesthetic: a few minutes with a local anaesthetic, around 30 minutes with sedation and between one hour and an hour and a half with a general anaesthetic. Discharge the same day.

The anaesthetic by age

Older teenagers and adults: local anaesthetic, with or without sedation. The ear and the area behind it are blocked. The patient is conscious, or drowsy if sedation is added, and breathes for themselves.

Young children: general anaesthetic. It is not a question of pain — with a local anaesthetic the area would also be numb — but of keeping still and co-operating: the operation requires lying still for an hour and a half with the head in a particular position, and that cannot be asked of a child. Asleep, they also do not experience theatre.

In between are teenagers, and there the decision is individual: it depends on maturity, on how they are taking the idea and on what is going to be done. It is discussed in clinic, with them present.

A general anaesthetic in a child: what parents ask

It is the number one fear, and it deserves an answer that neither dramatises nor trivialises.

What can be said with certainty: it is a short day-case procedure, in a clinic with a licensed operating theatre and with an anaesthetist who assesses the child beforehand, stays with them throughout the operation and monitors them in recovery. The pre-anaesthetic assessment takes place beforehand and is where history, allergies, medication and any recent respiratory problem are reviewed — a cold the week before can mean a date is postponed, and it is postponed.

What also has to be said: no anaesthetic carries zero risk, and anyone claiming otherwise is oversimplifying. What is right is that the indication is made by a professional, that the child is assessed beforehand, that surgery takes place in a properly equipped clinic and that questions are answered by the anaesthetist, not by a web page or a search engine.

On the aftermath, there is a useful figure: a systematic review of perioperative management in otoplasty deals specifically with pain and with postoperative nausea and vomiting, which are the two forms of discomfort that most shape the following hours, and describes a regional nerve block offering better analgesia than local infiltration, with a mean pain score at six hours of 0.25 against 2.34 out of 10. Both are low values.

What it feels like if you are awake

The question always comes up and the answer is slightly disconcerting: you feel pressure, not pain.

The local anaesthetic numbs the area completely. What reaches you is the sensation of your ear being touched and pushed, sometimes a dull noise, and the discomfort of staying still. If at any point you feel anything resembling pain, you say so and more anaesthetic is given: there is nothing to put up with.

What is genuinely most uncomfortable is usually not the surgery but the position: the head turned, the sterile drape blocking your view and how long it lasts. With conscious sedation that fades and many patients remember the operation as something blurred, or do not remember it at all.

The pain afterwards, and the first few hours

Moderate and lasting a few days. It responds to the prescribed painkillers, and what surprises people most is not the pain but the itching, the tightness and the numb feeling, which can last weeks and are to be expected.

The first few hours at home: head slightly raised, not sleeping on the operated side, with the headband on and untouched. No taking it off “to see how it looks”.

What to prepare at home

• 🔑 The headband. You buy it and you have to bring it to theatre on the day of the operation: the clinic does not supply it. It is worth buying it in advance rather than the night before.
• Someone to come with you for the journey home and for the first few hours. With sedation or a general anaesthetic it is compulsory, and you cannot drive.
• Painkillers, whatever you are prescribed on discharge and at the dose you are prescribed.
• Pillows, to sleep slightly propped up for the first few days.
• Clothes that open at the front, and something with a wide neck for the days that follow.
• If it is a child: the headband to hand, something to keep them occupied lying down, and the school told.

Frequently asked questions

How long does ear surgery take?

Around 90 minutes as a guide. The total time at the clinic is longer, because it includes preparation, marking and the period of observation afterwards.

Is an overnight stay needed?

No. It is day-case surgery: in and out the same day, with the headband already on and written instructions.

Which anaesthetic is used?

It depends on age. In older teenagers and adults, local anaesthetic with or without sedation. In young children, a general anaesthetic, because the operation requires lying still for an hour and a half and that cannot be asked of a child.

Does it hurt during the operation?

No. The area is anaesthetised and what you feel is pressure and handling. If discomfort appears at any point, more anaesthetic is given. There is nothing to put up with.

Will I be aware of everything if I am awake?

With a local anaesthetic and no sedation, you are conscious, although you feel no pain. With sedation, the memory is usually vague or non-existent. It is one of the things decided in clinic according to how you are taking the idea.

Is it safe to put a child to sleep for this?

It is a short day-case procedure, with a pre-anaesthetic assessment beforehand and an anaesthetist who stays with them throughout the operation and in recovery. That said, no anaesthetic carries zero risk, and specific questions about your child are answered by the anaesthetist at that pre-operative assessment, which is where they can be answered properly.

What if my child has a cold the day before?

You tell us. A recent respiratory infection can lead to the date being postponed, and postponing it is the right thing to do. It is a decision for the anaesthetic team.

What is the headband and who fits it?

It is an elastic band that goes round the head and holds the ears while they heal. You buy it and bring it to theatre on the day of the operation: the clinic does not supply it. It is fitted at the end of surgery and you leave wearing it.

Do I not get a dressing?

Usually not. The normal thing is to leave with the headband; a dressing is reserved for particular cases where the surgeon considers it necessary. It is a difference that surprises anyone who has seen old photographs of this operation.

How long is the headband worn?

Twenty-four hours a day for the first five days and then, for nine more days, while at home and during sleep. That is our protocol; it may vary slightly between surgeons.

How long will I be at the clinic after surgery?

It depends on the anaesthetic. With a local anaesthetic, a few minutes of observation. With sedation, around 30 minutes. With a general anaesthetic, between one hour and an hour and a half.

Do I have to fast?

Yes, according to the instructions given by the anaesthetic team, which are provided in writing. It is not a loose recommendation: if it is not followed, the operation is cancelled.

When can I go home? Can I drive?

The same day. Drive, no: with sedation or a general anaesthetic you need someone with you and you cannot drive in the hours that follow.

When will I see how it has turned out?

At the first review, at around the fifth day, which is when the headband stops being worn round the clock. And it is worth knowing that what you see that day is not the result: the ear is swollen and still has to settle.

Sources

• Spanish Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery (SECPRE). Cirugía de las orejas. secpre.org — The day-case nature of the procedure, type of anaesthetic by age and approximate times before returning to normal activity.
• Otoplasty. StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf. NBK538320 — Choice of anaesthetic according to the patient’s age and description of the steps of the procedure.
• Alnufaei AH, AlSubaie FK, Aljabri RA, et al. Perioperative Analgesia and Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting Management in Otoplasty: A Systematic Review. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2026;14(2):e7347. PMID 41705217 — A regional nerve block offered better analgesia than local infiltration, with mean pain at six hours of 0.25 against 2.34. Source of this page’s postoperative pain figures.
• Kaleeny JD, Janis JE. Otoplasty Surgical Techniques and Clinical Outcomes: A Practical Review. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2026;14(1):e7404. PMID 41567352 — Description of the families of surgical technique — suturing and cartilage remodelling — used during the operation.
• Sadhra SS, Motahariasl S, Hardwicke JT. Complications after prominent ear correction: A systematic review of the literature. J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg. 2017. PMID 28602268 — 28 studies and 3,493 patients; complication frequencies that justify the period of observation after surgery.

Book your consultation

If what is holding you back is not the decision but not knowing what you are going to face that day, that is solved by asking. At the assessment consultation the whole procedure is explained, which anaesthetic applies in your case is decided, and questions are answered by the person who will be operating.

And if the question is about a child’s anaesthetic, the pre-anaesthetic assessment is the place: that is where the professional who can answer it, with the notes in front of them, will be.

Clinical confirmation by the surgeon

Dr Enrique Salmerón González

Specialist in Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery
Registration no. 46/4624077

Dr Elena García Vilariño

Specialist in Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery
Registration no. 46/4624503

Last reviewed: 6 September 2026. This content is for information only and does not replace an individual assessment by a healthcare professional.