Otoplasty cost: from €2,500 and what affects the price

Surgery on the ear cartilage. Otoplasty corrects ears that stick out, are uneven or are too large by reshaping the cartilage to bring them closer to the head. It is done through an incision behind the ear, in the fold where it meets the head, so the scar stays hidden. In some cases a small amount of cartilage is removed; in others, internal stitches that hold the new shape are enough. At the end a band is placed around the head to protect the ears for the first few days.

The operation takes between one and two hours under local anesthetic with sedation, and no overnight stay is needed. You go home the same day with someone else, because you cannot drive yourself back.

What is included

• Specialist surgeon's fees
• Fees for the rest of the medical team
• Materials specified in the quote
• Operating room and day hospital (discharged the same day)
• Anesthesia
• Stay in a private room if needed
• Medication during your hospital stay
• Wound care with the nursing team
• Follow-up visits with the specialist
• Pre-op tests (blood tests, ECG, X-ray, etc.)

The tests are a blood test, an electrocardiogram and an X-ray. If you are traveling from elsewhere, we schedule them on the same day as your consultation to save you a trip. Follow-up visits are concentrated in the first few weeks, with wound care and stitch removal, and are then spaced out. They are done by the same surgeon who operated. Because both clinics share medical records, a follow-up visit can take place in Barcelona or Madrid, whichever suits you best.

What is not included

• Assessments or clearance from other specialists, if needed
• Medication after you leave the hospital
• Post-surgical garments (compression garments, bands, etc.), unless specified
• Additional recovery treatments (lymphatic drainage, physiotherapy, laser, etc.)
• Costs arising from medical complications not attributable to the surgery itself
• Further operations or touch-up surgery not planned at the outset
• Unplanned additional hospital stays
• Travel, accommodation or meals for the patient and companions
• Medical leave forms, certificates or additional paperwork
• Any material or procedure not expressly specified in the quote

Because not all ears have the same problem. The most common is prominent ears, the ones that "stick out", where the ear is repositioned closer to the head. Reduction otoplasty is considered when the ear is large and throws off the proportions of the face. And there is reconstructive otoplasty for birth defects or the after-effects of injuries or previous surgery, which is more technical and planned case by case.

The type of correction changes the technique, the anesthesia and the time in the operating room, which are what drive the quote. If only one ear needs surgery, for example to correct asymmetry, the quote is adjusted accordingly at the consultation.

It also matters whether it is combined with another operation at the same time. The most common are rhinoplasty and blepharoplasty, always after assessment at the consultation.

The first consultation costs €80, which is deducted from the cost of surgery if you go ahead. It lasts about an hour, and the surgeon examines the shape, position and proportions of your ears, decides on the technique and gives you a fixed written quote. If you cannot come in, it can be done by video call with the surgeon who would operate on you, for €50, which is also deducted.

Otoplasty can be financed over up to 48 months, 12 of them interest-free. Financing is available from €1,000 to €21,000, and the account holder can be the patient or a family member.

The price is similar in Barcelona and Madrid. In Barcelona, the surgery includes a session of the Synapta® recovery protocol. In Barcelona the operation is performed by Dr. Víctor Cabrera and in Madrid by Dr. Antonio Martínez Murillo and Dr. Lucrecia Villanueva, and the surgeon who sees you at the first consultation is the one who operates on you and handles your follow-up afterward.