Updated

Shocking damage to Michael Jackson's ear emerged in a close-up picture yesterday.

Bits of skin and cartilage have been hacked off for years to rebuild the Bad star’s nose.

Jacko has managed to hide the damage under his long hair since the late 1990s when he first had tissue removed for his reshaped hooter.

The photo taken just days ago in Beverly Hills, California, exposes the true extent of the damage.

PHOTOS: Click for more pics of Michael Jackson.

VIDEO: Michael says "I can still moonwalk."

But our inset picture from 1997 shows Jacko, now suffering skin cancer, with an undamaged ear in Cannes, France.

Douglas McGeorge, President of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, said the shape of Jacko’s left ear was “consistent” with cartilage removal from the shell.

The NHS do a similar op, usually to correct noses bent in accidents.

MORE: Click to TheSun.co.uk for mroe photos and information.