This is actually a pretty common problem. I have fixed a lot of Louisville split earlobes in my time.

Typically, the patients are women in their late 30’s and 40’s. The reason is the big heavy earrings that were so popular in the 80’s you wore. Over time, the weight of the earring pulled the post downward and the piercing becomes a split.

This is a very easy problem to correct. I can do it in the office under local anesthesia and it only takes about 10 minutes per earlobe. It isn’t terribly expensive either, ranging from $200 to $300.

What we do is get the lobe numb, and then remove the skin that lines the split. Then I just sew it up with a few sutures and that’s it. We take the sutures out in a week.

My recommendation is to wait about 3 months before you re-pierce. In the interim, clip on earrings are allowed.

Lee Corbett, MD

www.corbettcosmeticsurgery.com

502.721.0330