Treatment
Surgeries to remove the obstructing ear canal bone are usually performed under general anesthesia in an operating room and aided by the use of a binocular microscope. Most ear surgeons use a drill to remove the bone and may approach the area directly via the ear canal or by making an incision behind the ear and dissecting the ear forward. In using a drilling technique it is important to keep the thin inner ear canal skin away from the drill to preserve the skin and allow optimal skin coverage at the conclusion of the surgery.
Some doctors now prefer to use 1 millimeter chisels to remove the obstructing bone and enter directly through the ear canal. This technique enhances skin preservation. This technique may, in some cases, be performed under sedation with local anesthesia.
During recuperation from surgery it is extremely important not to expose the ear canal to water to minimize the chance of infection or complications.
Depending on the condition of the ear canal and the surgical technique used, the ear canal may require several weeks to several months to heal.
Unprotected exposure of ear canals to cold water and wind after treatment can lead to regrowth of bone and the need for repeated operations on the same ear.
Read more about this topic: Surfer's Ear
Famous quotes containing the word treatment:
“[17th-century] Puritans were the first modern parents. Like many of us, they looked on their treatment of children as a test of their own self-control. Their goal was not to simply to ensure the child’s duty to the family, but to help him or her make personal, individual commitments. They were the first authors to state that children must obey God rather than parents, in case of a clear conflict.”
—C. John Sommerville (20th century)
“A regular council was held with the Indians, who had come in on their ponies, and speeches were made on both sides through an interpreter, quite in the described mode,—the Indians, as usual, having the advantage in point of truth and earnestness, and therefore of eloquence. The most prominent chief was named Little Crow. They were quite dissatisfied with the white man’s treatment of them, and probably have reason to be so.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Any important disease whose causality is murky, and for which treatment is ineffectual, tends to be awash in significance.”
—Susan Sontag (b. 1933)