Surgery for exostoses

haven't had it done, YET. don't know if you came across this article, but this is the route i'm going sometime in the not to distant future:
http://www.pamf.org/ENT/services/surfersear.html

OK. I HAVE had this done by Dr. Hetzler and it went really well for me. I only had one ear done, which was stupid in hindsight. Dr. Hetzler pioneered the approach. He was great and the staff were excellent. In my non-medical opinion, this is a much less medieval method for dealing with this problem versus the old ear flop and drill. Legal disclaimer: you make your own medical decisions and this is just a summary of my experience. BTW, it takes years of exposure to build up the calcified deposits to clog the ear. So, I don't anticipate needing another surgery since it took me 20+ years of surfing to get the first boney growths.

I've had both ears done, twice. First was with the microscopic chisel about 10 years ago, second was a couple years ago via microscopic drill. At the time of my first surgery, the chisel was the state of the art method. It heals faster and they didn't have to pull the ear flap back to see the canal. However, when you think about how a chisel operates, which is basically hammering and chopping away, even on a small scale that's not going to be an exact science. There's a nerve on each side of your face by the ear, and if they sever that nerve, it can mean partial paralysis in your face.

So, what this means is that they have to be a little more careful around this nerve with the chisel. The can't go hammering away and then hit it a little too hard and then, "Oops - sorry. Your face is paralyzed." So, NOW they have a microscopic drill, which is the best of both worlds. This way, they can monitor the nerve and gradually shave away until they are very close to it. It allows the doctor to get a lot more exact, and thus the effects last longer. They don't have to go in from behind the ear, and you're back in the water in about 3-4 weeks. I had mine done by the head guy at USCF, and he said if I'd had this done the first time I wouldn't have had to see him so soon.

Apparently now they even have a LASER operation. I'm sure it's still the next step up from the microscopic drill, but hopefully I can protect my ears enough that I'll never have to find out.

@kenny, wow. i can't believe you had both ears done twice. that's impressive. the microscopic ear drill sounds interesting. do they have to do the ear flip for that one?

I just edited my reply; no, they don't have to flip the ear. He would only do one ear at a time, though, so that kind of sucked going under the knife two separate times.

had this surgery a few years ago. Drilled. No ear flap. Did both ears: one at a time, about 2 months apart during the spring / summer wind season.

Wasnt a big deal. Afterwards the pain felt like a wisdom tooth removal. No loss of hearing or balance

Advice is to have your ears checked from time to time. And dont have the first doc who wants to drill go ahead. I got a 2nd opinion and the 2nd much better doctor(Tom Engel @ CPMC 415-751-4914) elected to hold off for a couple years to see if the closure stabilized.

As the bones continued to grow though he finally said it was time to drill otherwise the healing would be tougher.

Happy to provide further info to anyone that wants it. Send me an email.

Yep, his name is Dr. Lawrence Lustig: http://www.ucsfhealth.org/adult/cgi-bin/prd.cgi?action=DISPLAYDOCTOR&doc.... He's very easygoing, knowledgeable, comforting. He's young enough to be on top of all the new shit, but old enough to have been doing this for quite a while.

Those of you who have tried to get appointments at UCSF probably know it's not easy. I actually got referred from my "normal" ear doc because the closure was so bad he couldn't even see in enough to evaluate. So, if you get yourself to UCSF, you're usually dealing with the cream of the crop. Plus, they all have various areas of expertise. Like, Lustig is the Director of his particular specialty I believe, but then he sent me to another specialist when I had problems with my sinus cavity.

So, it's hard to get an appointment, and generally takes a LONG wait before your appointment to actually happen, but in the long run I think it's worth it.

um, to all you guys who had this procedure...had you been wearing earplugs most of the time? i've been wearing earplugs and a hood for years in order to avoid this...

@freddie, like @dingo said, i too have been surfing for going on 30 years and never wore a hood or plugs. interestingly my right ear was the major clogger due in large part (according to the doc) to the prevailing northerly winter winds that pour into your ear as you stare at the horizon. makes me think that east coasters would see more bone growth in their left ear canal. anyway, i do the hood thing now and the growth seems to have pretty much stopped. i hear that pro plugs work well but i never liked the feel of them in my ear...

My brother had both ears operated on "twice" at UCLA Med Ctr. Unfortunately it was too late for him. Lost complete hearing in one ear, and 75% in the other. Still surfs, in So Cal, but uses the Pro Plugs, and a hood, even when it's warm down there. He swears by the Pro Plugs, and has even had silicon fitted plugs by his Doctor.

The price(s) we pay sometimes to surf. Be thankful our waters aren't as polluted as some of the So Cal spots, since one of his Doctors stated that there was bacterial growths in both ears from the water.

OK. Have faith. Just had the left ear done a week ago. Not painful... time intensive.. but living with gauze in your ear for a week is a bit if a drag. Coming out of it now. Make some coffee. Chill. I see the light. There are waves. No... it is blown-out. Good. Good planning. Sort of like a two wave hold down without the adrenaline and a lot of good drugs. When I find the surface I will let you know. Glad I got a good breath.....

Dr Stanley Mui at Kaiser French Campus. He used only the chisel...

For those of you trying to prevent getting to the ear closure point, I've tried lots of different types of plugs;

Doc's Proplugs - I don't like these at all. The surfer plugs are "vented" so they actually let some water in. Also since they are plastic, they harden and change shape pretty quickly and become useless.

Custom Silicone plugs - I got these made a couple of times ($70-$80 a pop). They were great for a few weeks but over time the plastic also gets hard and they lose their shape and are not as effective. Not worth the money.

I find the Hearos Multi-Use silicone plugs work the best - they are pliable and sticky and come in a pack of 8. I go through a pack about every 6 months. They also don't dampen out to much sound, so you are not totally deaf with them on. Once you get used to earplugs, you will find it very difficult to not wear them in the water. They also give you the impression that you are warmer because you don't have the cold water sloshing around in your ears; http://www.hearos.com/products/silicone