What is Nose Surgery?

Nose surgery, also known as rhinoplasty, enhances facial harmony, improving the proportions of the nose to change the way you look. There can be many reasons for having nose surgery, sometimes described by patients as “nose reshaping,” including the need to address structural defects that impair breathing.

Nose size in relation to facial balance, including the angle between the nose and the upper lip. Nose surgery can change or treat:

• Nose size in relation to facial balance, including the angle between the nose and the upper lip

• Nose size in relation to facial balance

• Nose width at the bridge or in the size and position of the nostrils

• Nose profile with visible humps or depressions on the bridge

• Nasal tip that is enlarged or bulbous, drooping, upturned or hooked

• Nostrils that are large, wide, or upturned

• Nasal asymmetry

 

If you desire a more symmetrical nose, keep in mind that everyone’s face is asymmetric to some degree. This surgery will not give you a perfect nose. Results may not be completely symmetrical, although the goal is to create facial balance and correct proportion.

Nose surgery that’s done to improve an obstructed airway requires careful evaluation of the nasal structure as it relates to airflow and breathing. Correction of a deviated septum, one of the most common causes of breathing impairment, is achieved by adjusting the nasal structure to produce better alignment.

 

Rhinoplasty is a highly individualized procedure. You should do it for yourself, not to fulfill someone else’s desires or to try to fit any sort of ideal image.

Nose surgery is a good option if:

• Your facial growth is complete

• You are physically healthy

• You don’t smoke

• You have a positive outlook and realistic goals in mind for the improvement of your appearance

This surgery can be done along with other surgeries

 

 

The Procedure:

Step 1 – Anesthesia
Medications are administered for your comfort during the surgical procedure. The choices include intravenous sedation or general anesthesia. Your doctor will recommend the best choice for you.

 

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 skin that covers the nasal bones and cartilages is gently raised, allowing access to reshape the structure of the nose.

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Step 3 – Reshaping the nose structure
An overly large nose may be reduced by removing bone or cartilage. Sometimes surgery of the nose may require the addition of cartilage grafts. Most commonly, cartilage from the septum, the partition in the middle of the nose, is used for this purpose. Occasionally cartilage from the ear or, rarely, a section of rib cartilage can be used.

Step 4 – Correcting a deviated septum
If the septum is deviated, it can be straightened and the projections inside the nose 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.

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Click here to read safety information about this procedure.