WAVE 3 TV Louisville, KY | Injectable gel helps rejuvenate old ear piercings

Injectable gel helps rejuvenate old ear piercings

By Lori Lyle

(LOUISVILLE) -- Wearing pierced earrings can become a bit of a challenge as we age, because the earlobes can stretch. As WAVE 3's Lori Lyle reports, one doctor has found a unique way to pump the piercing back up without surgery.

Paula Ingoldsby visited Dr. Allan Wulc to plump up her ears. "I don't like the way that my ears look when I put earrings in them. They're heavy, they hang down. If they're heavy, they're really hanging down. They're not full enough."

Most women will tell you that the tiny holes designed to hoist up earrings can stretch out.

"Ears do have a tendency to shrivel as you get older, for whatever reason. Procedures like facelifts and probably talking on the phone or sleeping on the ear can result in a crease."

Dr. Wulc is a highly regarded facial plastic surgeon who is reluctantly becoming known for his creative use of the popular filler Restylane.

"Initially, jokingly, I said to a patient, a woman patient, not that elderly, in her 50s, 'we could put some in your earlobe.' And it was a joke, but she said, 'that would be great!'"

Dr. Wulc only does ears as an add-on procedure, but people are calling from all over the country to get this seemingly simple fix.

"It's a short, minimum discomfort kind of procedure with instantaneous results and minimal bruising," Wulc says.

So how long does this piercing plumper last? Dr. Wulc says he's been using the filler on ears for about a year, and has had no repeat customers. Since the earlobe doesn't move much, it's likely to last longer than it would in some of the more active areas of the face.

For more information, visit: http://drwulc.com.

Online Reporter: Lori Lyle

Online Producer: Michael Dever