www.momlogic.com/2008/08/n...f_ears.php

There was a time way back when the worst thing a teen could do was get her ears pierced maybe even (gasp!) multiple times. That's so old school--and each generation must up the ante when it comes to shocking their parents.

The latest shocking trend? Ear sculpting! Why is this bizarre practice getting so popular? According to Dr. Lajos Nagy, a New York plastic surgeon: "Sculpted ears not only enhance the attractiveness of the face, but also improve the experience of listening to music." Maybe the doctor needs to buy himself some Bose speakers.

Whatever the reason, the surgical procedure has been slowly catching on with the young and daring. Body modification artist Russ Foxx has been sculpting ears for years and will only perform the operation on 18-year-olds or older, according to Shaughnessy Keely, a rep from his piercing shop, The Fall. "He'll do a few sessions and he'll sculpt your ear and make it pointy."

Put more graphically, elf ears are created by slicing the top of the cartilage on the ear and then sewing it back together. Hmm, suddenly "tramp stamps" aren't looking that bad.

As with a tattoo, reversing the process isn't always that easy, "It wouldn't ever look exactly the same as it used to if reversed," Shaughnessy warns. "The folds would never be the same."

Would your kid get an earful if he or she came home sporting elf ears?