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Rhinoplasty
While the shape of your nose is usually the result of heredity, the appearance may have been altered in an injury or during prior surgery.
Also known as rhinoplasty, surgery of the nose improves the appearance and proportion of your nose, enhancing facial harmony and self confidence.
Surgery of the nose may also correct impaired breathing caused by structural abnormalities in the nose.
What can surgery of the nose accomplish?
Rhinoplasty can change:
- Nose size, in relation to the other facial structures
- Nose width, at the bridge
- Nose profile, with visible humps or depressions on the bridge
- Nasal tip, that is large or bulbous, drooping, or too upturned
- Nostrils that are large, wide or upturned
- Nasal asymmetry and deviation
Is it right for me?
Nose surgery is a highly individualized procedure and you should do it for yourself, not to fulfill someone else's desires or to try to fit any sort of ideal image. Surgery of the nose is a good option for you if:
- Your facial growth is complete and you are 13 years of age or older
- You are physically healthy
- You have specific, but realistic goals in mind for the improvement of your appearance
Procedural Steps
Step 1 - Anesthesia
Surgery of the nose may be performed as an outpatient or an in-patient procedure under intravenous sedation or general anesthesia. If performed on an outpatient basis,
be sure to arrange for someone to drive you to and from surgery and to stay with you for at least the first night following surgery.
Step 2 - The incision
Surgery of the nose is performed either using a closed procedure, where incisions are hidden inside the nose, or an open procedure, where an incision is made across the columella, the narrow strip of tissue that separates the nostrils.
Through these incisions, the soft tissues that cover the nose are gently raised, allowing access to reshape the structure of the nose.
Step 3 - Reshaping the nose structure
Surgery of the nose can reduce or augment nasal structures with the use of cartilage grafted from other areas of your body.
Most commonly, pieces of cartilage from the septum, the partition in the middle of the nose, is used for this purpose.
Occasionally a piece of cartilage from the ear and rarely a section of rib cartilage can be used.
Step 4 - Correcting a deviated septum
If the septum is deviated, it is now straightened and the projections inside the nose are reduced to improve breathing.
Step 5 - Closing the incision
Once the underlying structure of the nose is sculpted to the desired shape, nasal skin and tissue is redraped and incisions are closed.
Additional incisions may be placed in the natural creases of the nostrils to alter their size.
Step 6 - See the results
While initial swelling subsides within a few weeks, it may take up to a year for your new nasal contour to fully refine.
During this time you may notice gradual changes in the appearance of your nose as it refines to a more permanent outcome. Swelling may come and go and worsen in the morning during the first year following your nose surgery.
Your recovery:
Following your physician's instructions is key to the success of your surgery. It is important that the surgical incisions are not subjected to excessive force, abrasion, or motion during the time of healing. Your doctor will give you specific instructions on how to care for yourself.
An external splint will support the nose as it begins to heal for approximately one week.
The results will be long-lasting:
It may take several months for swelling to fully dissipate and up to a year - and sometimes longer - for the outcome of the surgery to fully refine. The result of nose surgery will be permanent.
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