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This posting was written by Priv.Doz.Dr.med.W.Merck who has developed the stitch method and first used it in 1996:

My stitch method is the first truly minimally-invasive method in the world for otoplasty for protruding ears. The only wounds are tiny stitches that heal after a few days and are no longer visible after that. For this method, I have now gathered 10 years of experience with over 5,000 successfully operated ears. There have never been any serious complications, as commonly occur with the traditional methods (comparison chart). The ears are as resilient as before. Not once has there been a case of a snapped stitch, not even under the most extreme movement of the ears. With this method, every ear and earlobe can be treated, not matter how large the ear or how thick the cartilage. There is almost no age limit. My youngest patient was 5 years old, my oldest 86. There is no bandage to give away that there has been an operation.

The Dr. Merck Stitch Method does not involve cutting at all. The cartilage is not cut, thinned out or worked in any way. It is not even exposed, as is is with the other, traditional methods. With the use of a local anaesthetic, biocompatible threads are placed invisibly under the skin of the ear and are then knotted together. A natural ear crease – the technical term is anthelix – is formed, setting the ear automatically in the right position. The patient can watch the operation in a mirror and co-determine the position of the ears up to a millimetre, which is not possible with the old methods. Right after the operation the patient can return home – without a bandage! Glasses can be worn immediately.

The pain after the operation is so little that the patient can go back to work or to school the following day.There are no visible scars because the stitches do not result in scars. The result is always a very beautiful, natural looking ear. Nobody will be able to tell that it has been operated. There are none of the high risks tied to the traditional operations.

We have been performing the Dr. Merck Stitch Method in our practice in Constance for 10 years, and as of the last few years, also in Majorca. Both centres are the only ones in the world that are exclusively specialised in otoplasty of protruding ears. This provides a high level of experience and competence.
Another operation centre is planned for Asian patients in Hong Kong.

For further details about the method, its advantages in comparison to the traditional methods and the reactions in the media in Germany, Switzerland and Majorca, please refer to the (comparison chart) or visit www.merck-ecs.com

Unfortunately, the Stitch Method is often confused by some uninformed doctors with the "Mustardé method" or its variants (for example, by Dr. Heppt and Dr. Bucher). The Mustardé method, however, is an open and bloody method which has not proved its worth and is not applicable for every ear (see, common methods of otoplasty).
Under the name of "Stitch Method", Dr. Benedict and Dr. Pirwitz on the also offer a method on the Internet in which the cartilage is exposed and the skin is tunneled. This method has absolutely nothing to do with the Stitch Method invented by me.
Other doctors (such as, Dr. Frank, Dr. Lenze and a doctor team in Hannover) use the method, but inadequately - with the result that they need to combine it with common methods.
The doctors Hörl, Rösgen and Dagtekin offer an operation with an "improved stitch method" on the Internet. But the method is anything but an improvement - with large incisions on the front and on the back side of the ear. With my method, this is no longer necessary.
If you are interested in a truly innovative, truly non-invasive stitch method, make sure that you ask any doctor claiming to use it whether he/she really practices the "Dr. Merck Stitch Method" and whether they can present a certificate proving that they have received professional training for the stitch method from Dr. Merck himself.