Otoplasty is one of the most personal procedures in plastic surgery — it addresses something that has often bothered the patient for years or decades. Below are anonymized stories from our recent international patients, in their own words.
All stories below are anonymized with patient permission. Real names, identifying details, and faces are never published. Stories are paraphrased from patient correspondence with their consent.
"Our son had been teased about his ears since starting school. By age 9, he was asking to wear hats indoors. We looked at NHS waiting times (over a year for cosmetic referral, and not guaranteed), then at private UK pricing (well over £6,000 per ear for top surgeons), and started researching Istanbul. Dr. Erdal's credentials — FACS, FEBOPRAS, Associate Professor — were what made us comfortable. We spent 10 days in Istanbul. Our son did beautifully through surgery under general anesthesia. He's now 11 and the teasing has completely stopped. We have no regrets."
"I had hidden my ears under longer hair, hats, scarves since I was thirteen. I never put my hair up. I never went swimming with my hair tied back. I'm 38 now, with a daughter who has thankfully not inherited my ears, and I decided enough was enough. The video consultation with Dr. Erdal was honest — he told me my ears would be 'natural, not pinned' and explained exactly what would happen. After surgery, I cried when I saw the first photos because I looked like myself but without the thing that had haunted me. I have a ponytail now, all the time."
"I'm an engineer from California. I'd looked at otoplasty in the US for two years — quotes from Beverly Hills surgeons were $14,000-$18,000. I started looking abroad and was skeptical of the medical tourism world at first. What changed my mind about Dr. Erdal was reading his publications and seeing the academic record — Associate Professor, peer-reviewed papers. I flew to Istanbul, had local anesthesia (no general needed), spent a week, and flew home. Total cost including flight, hotel, and surgery was around a third of US pricing. The result is exactly what was promised — natural, not pinned."
"I had otoplasty at 24 in Melbourne and was never happy with the result — one ear looked fine, the other was over-corrected and looked obviously fake. After 7 years I started researching revision surgery. Revision is harder than primary otoplasty and not many surgeons want to take on someone else's case. Dr. Erdal explained on video what he could and couldn't do — honest about the limits of revision. The result isn't 'perfect' but it's symmetric now, which was the main thing. I appreciated the honesty."
"I was finishing high school and starting university in Europe. I decided I wanted to address my ears before starting fresh somewhere new. My parents researched options in Dubai and London, and we eventually went to Istanbul because of the convenience of direct flights and the reputation of Turkish plastic surgery. The whole process was smooth — coordinator picked us up from the airport, hotel was 5 minutes from clinic, surgery was under local anesthesia, and 8 days later we flew home. By the time university started, my hair had fully grown back and no one suspected anything."
"Our daughter asked us to look into ear surgery for over a year before we agreed. We wanted to be sure she was making the decision herself, not because of social pressure. After consultations with three surgeons (one in Sweden, one in Denmark, Dr. Erdal in Istanbul via video), we chose Istanbul mainly because Dr. Erdal spoke with our daughter directly during the video consultation in a way that was age-appropriate but not condescending. The surgery went smoothly under general anesthesia. We extended the trip a few days to enjoy Istanbul as a family. The result is exactly what she wanted."
WhatsApp Doç. Dr. Erdal with your photos and questions.