This looks amazing (procedure by the always border-smashing Howie aka LunaCobra), but I had two concerns about these photos. First, that enough structural damage has been done by cutting broadly across the anti-helix (ie. where you’d place a rook), that it wouldn’t take a lot for the ear to collapse — Howie emphasizes that he’s done a large number of these removals and that this person’s ear was robust and strong enough to heal successfully.

My other concern was that with a removal of this sort that crosses several very easy to penetrate (by bacteria) cartilage folds that by wearing the industrial bar across it during healing that there is a fairly high chance of post-procedural infection.

That said, if you want this particular hole, it’s not like there’s really a better way to do it! Some things simply involve risk, and you either accept them or you don’t do it… In any case, other than accidentally dropping a heavy weight on his ear three days into the healing (yowch!), he’s healing well.