Plastic surgeon reveals $10,000 surgery Donald Trump would have to undergo to fix his bullet-damaged ear

Following an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump last Saturday, the current presidential candidate seems relatively unscathed, despite an injured ear. However, some experts believe reconstructive surgery for the injury could cost $10,000.

Dr. Dennis Dass, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, Calif., told the Daily Mail that the president may need to undergo a reconstructive surgery treatment called helical advancement flap. This procedure could cost up to $10,000 and take up to two hours to complete.

Trump said that his ear was grazed by a bullet fired by 20-year-old shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks, who also injured two bystanders and killed a 50-year-old former fire chief named Corey Comperatore at a rally in Butler, Pa.

“I felt something hit me really, really hard,” said Trump in a speech after the shooting. In a Truth Social post, he also confirmed that his injury was the source of “much blood” that could be seen streaming down his face in photos from the event.

Dr. Stephen Greenberg, a plastic surgeon, explained to Inside Edition that there are a lot of blood vessels around the ear, and thus injures to them cause a lot of bleeding.

When Trump showed up at the Republican National Convention this week in Milwaukee, Wisc., wearing a bandage on the ear, fake ear bandages quickly became a fashion statement among attendees. What sort of damage is left underneath the bandage remains unclear, according to CNN’s medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta .

“It looks like there was superficial damage to that cartilage. And in fact, the bullet may have gone straight through both the cartilage and the skin portion,” said Dr. Greenburg of Trump’s injury.

U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) who previously served as Trump’s White House physician, said during an interview Monday on “The Benny Show” podcast, that he bandaged the former president’s ear himself, per CNN.

“It just took the top of his ear off, a little bit of the top of his ear off, as it passed through,” Jackson said. “It was bleeding like crazy.”

Dr. Dass said that, if part of Trump’s ear is missing and cannot be reattached, the helical advancement flap surgery would start with removal of the damaged area and scar tissue. To close the wound, surgeons would make an incision from the inside of the ear to loosen the skin, allowing them to rotate nearby healthy tissue, including cartilage and skin, over the wounded area to restore the ear’s natural shape and appearance.

Stitches would be in place for about a week and Trump would make a full recovery in about six weeks. Although the procedure is complicated, Dass said that the upper part of the ear, where Trump was apparently hit, is one of the easier areas to reconstruct.

However, he noted that Trump may not choose to go the reconstruction route, instead opting to wear the injured ear as a “badge of honor.”

Trump’s son, Eric, said Wednesday that his father didn’t have stitches. Jackson said Monday that he did not expect Trump would need surgery on the ear.

“It’s going to granulate and heal in, and he’s not going to need anything to be done with it.”

Still, Dr. Gupta shared concerns this week about Trump’s injuries.

“A full public assessment of Trump’s injuries is necessary, for both the former president’s own health and the clarity it can provide for voters about the recovery of the man who could become president of the United States once again,” he said. “The concern is that gunshot blasts near the head can cause injuries that aren’t immediately noticeable, such as bleeding in or on the brain, damage to the inner ear or even psychological trauma. As a trauma neurosurgeon, I have seen how a thorough evaluation after any kind of gunshot wound can provide a complete picture and lead to a speedier recovery.”