Have a patient with earlobes that could use a bit of evening out? Here's what we could find about using filler injections.

Earlobe rejuvenation is not a common procedure, but it is nothing nascent. The literature is limited considering it is a treatment with little demand. It is one of the many overlooked procedures because of the demographic searching for the treatment. The older demographic undergo this procedure since their earlobes have started drooping.

One of the dermal fillers used for earlobe rejuvenation is Juvederm Ultra XC (Hotta, 2011). Other fillers that were used on the earlobe were Restylane (Suman, 2011). Hyaluronic acid based fillers are preferred and more suitable, but some physicians even use Botox. One of the methods in injecting the earlobe is a fanning technique (Greco, Antunes, and Yellin, 2017). According to Greco et al. (2012), that fillers injected in areas like the earlobes could last longer. No other techniques have been mentioned regarding injectable earlobe rejuvenation.

A fat grafting technique was used as another form of earlobe rejuvenation (Pi et al., 2016). Through fat grafting, wrinkles in the earlobes were reduced. The procedure was effective; while it did not measure patient satisfaction, the researchers believe fat grafting’s effects were long term for volumization of earlobes.

Injectable filler or gel use also aid surgical repair of the ears or in the expansion of tissue. In a study by Inbal et al. (2017) Macrolane, a dermal filler initially used to become an alternative to surgical breast enhancement, was used to aid in reconstructing ears. Its function was to expand tissue, and the outcome was good with little to no complications found in the patients in the study.

Despite Macrolane’s efficacy, it is not FDA approved and has been the subject of controversy in augmenting the breasts because of interference of the gel during mammogram. Due to piling complaints over the injectable gel, Q-Med (the manufacturer), has since then discontinued the use of Macrolane to enhance the breasts.