Mercy Plastic Surgeon Dr. Craig Vander Kolk Discusses Correcting Ear Lobe Damage

Long, dangling earrings are very much in style right now, but they can be heavy on the ears. Over time, the earrings can pull down your earlobe and even cause a tear. That's one of the reasons earlobe repair surgery has become so common.

This includes Sarah Bailey. She used to have two piercings in her left ear, but now can't wear earrings at all. Her earlobe is torn straight through in two places.

"One of the holes was pulled by a small kid," Bailey said. "Years later it actually tore to the end. The other one, I'm not really sure what happened to that one."

Bailey said it no longer hurts, but she doesn't like the way it looks and desperately wants to wear earrings again.

So she is having her earlobe repaired by Baltimore plastic surgeon Dr. Craig Vander Kolk, Director of Cosmetic Medicine & Surgery at Mercy Medical Center.

According to Dr. Vander Kolk,  it is a common surgery, and the procedure in usually fairly simple. He said the surgery takes about 20 minutes and costs a few hundred dollars.

After about a month, the patient comes back in and Dr. Vander Kolk re-pierces the ear.

Bailey can't wait for that day.

"I have to have earrings," she said. "I just feel empty without my earrings."

To view Mercy plastic surgeon Dr. Craig Vander Kolk’s interview regarding ear lobe repair, click here.