Dr. Thomas Romo III cares deeply about children. He dedicates his talents and years of experience to protecting children from the isolation and ridicule of growing up with a facial deformity by providing them with surgical solutions that will improve their lives. Dr. Romo will meet with both you and your child to evaluate your concerns. He will then provide a comprehensive explanation of the surgical options available to improve your child’s appearance. The most common cosmetic procedures performed on children are rhinoplasty and otoplasty.

 

Dr Romo is also a recognized expert in the treatment of the facial birth defect known as microtia. For the past 25 years, Dr. Romo has also dedicated his considerable talents to advancing microtia surgery —a corrective procedure that constructs ears for children born without them. He heads the world-renowned microtia team at North Shore/LIJ Lenox Hill Hospital and at the Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital, working with children who come to New York City from all over the world. 

 

 

 

 

Rhinoplasty For Children (before and after photos)

 

Contemporary rhinoplasty or cosmetic reshaping of the nose has undergone several changes over the last two decades. First, most rhinoplasty is performed upon Caucasian patients who have large noses that they want to look smaller. This is called a reduction rhinoplasty and is accomplished by cutting away cartilage and bone, and letting the natural skin shrink-wrap down to the smaller framework. In the past, too much cartilage and bone was removed, which commonly resulted in noses that were too small, upturned, and pinched. To prevent this, Dr. Romo developed a rhinoplasty technique called Reduction Structured Rhinoplasty™, which creates a natural-looking nose that maintains proper breathing function. The key to this technique is to not over-reduce the nasal architecture, and to strengthen the residual support structures with the grafting of septal cartilage or implants. Dr. Romo usually operates on females at an earlier age than males. For females, the ideal age is after they have started menstruating, and have completed their growth spurt, which generally occurs between the ages of 14 to 16 years old. For males, Dr. Romo recommends delaying the procedure until they have completed their growth spurt; for most male patients, this is usually between 18 to 20 years of age.

 

 

 

Otoplasty For Children  (before and after photos)

 

Otoplasty, or the pinning back of the ears, is becoming a more popular aesthetic procedure. The standard otoplasty technique commences by removing a portion of skin behind the ear and then suturing back the cartilage in a partially blind procedure. Often, this approach causes an overpinning of the ears, which results in ears which are too close to the head. A subsequent effect of overpinning is the flaring of the top and bottom of the ears, also known as a “telephone deformity”.

 

Dr. Romo designed and published a unique otoplasty technique that utilizes a skin flap behind the ear instead of the standard procedure of primary skin removal. This approach allows for complete exposure of the ear cartilage, which enables a more predictable result after the needed set-back procedure. At the time of skin closure, the redundant skin is redraped and exactingly removed. This allows for a tension-free closure that prevents a deformity in the postoperative ear shape as it heals. Patients can be operated on as early as three years old, but Dr. Romo recommends waiting until the child is six to seven years old. At this point, a child’s ears are closer to being full grown, and the child is aware of his or her appearance, and may be experiencing negative reactions from peers. This realization enables the child to take an active role in the decision to proceed with the suggested surgical intervention.

 

 

 

Microtia For Children  (before and after photos)

 

Microtia (a smaller than normal, usually misshapen auricle) is one of the more common congenital anomalies of the external ear.
It occurs with a frequency of one in every 7,000–8,000 births in the general population. Males and the right ear are most often affected. Bilateral microtia occurs in one of every 12,000 births. The majority of cases have no genetic component, as less than 15% of these patients have a family history of ear anomalies.

 

Dr. Romo has been performing ground-breaking surgical techniques for the management of microtia for over 25 years. Creating a new ear structure can be accomplished by using rib cartilage or porous implants. Each patient is assessed to determine which method will provide the best result. Microtia is often associated with atresia, which presents as a hearing loss. This is corrected with a bone-anchored hearing aid that is implanted completely under the skin.