Young man's ear becomes necrotic after piercing

Recently, the Central Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital admitted a 23-year-old male patient to the hospital with pain, swelling, redness and heat in the right earlobe, with a pus leak. The doctor diagnosed a right ear cartilage abscess due to piercing, then performed surgery to drain the abscess, scrape the necrotic cartilage, fix the pressure bandage with gauze, and apply antibiotics. After surgery, the young man's right earlobe was stable, no more pus, but the earlobe was deformed and shrunken.

spring nail earrings young man was paralyzed picture 1 — Condition of the patient's right ear upon admission. (Photo courtesy of BVCC).

Dr. Pham Anh Tuan, who directly treated the patient, said the most common complication after ear piercing is auricular cartilage inflammation. Not only is this injury difficult to treat, it also carries the risk of transmitting blood-borne diseases (hepatitis B, C, HIV...) due to unsafe piercing tools.

Accordingly, treatment of cartilage inflammation and ear abscess is very complicated because bacteria causing inflammation must use antibiotics for a long time, and scraping of necrotic cartilage can easily leave sequelae such as deformed, wrinkled, and contracted earlobes requiring reconstructive surgery.

The Central Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital has received many cases of complications due to the use of non-sterile instruments or improperly cleaned piercing areas. In particular, ear cartilage piercings are difficult to heal, causing infections and many serious complications. Therefore, when you need to have your ears pierced, you need to choose a reputable, licensed facility, and you need to learn carefully about how to care for and maintain hygiene after the procedure.

In addition, you should consider when piercing your ears in many locations, especially where it passes through the cartilage of the ear, because it can easily cause cartilage inflammation and other complications. If there are unusual symptoms such as long-term swelling or pus at the piercing site, you should immediately go to a specialized medical facility for timely examination.

Le Trang

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