Thousands of otoplasties are performed successfully each year. The surgery may be done in the surgeon's office-based facility, in an outpatient surgical facility, or in a hospital. It may be performed under a local anesthetic which numbs the area around the ears, or under a general anesthetic which will cause sleep through the entire operation. The procedure usually lasts about 2 hours, depending on the extent of the surgery.

The most commonly employed technique is one in which the surgeon makes incisions in the back of the ear and removes skin to expose the ear cartilage. Sutures are used to fold the cartilage to reshape the ear. The same result in some instances can be achieved without sutures by cutting or abrading the cartilage before folding it. The skin incisions are sutured closed. The ear is brought closer to the head by creating a more pronounced fold (called the antihelix) in the central portion of the ear.