Plastic surgery for nose

What is Rhinoplasty?

Rhinoplasty or "nose job" is a term for plastic surgery of the nose. In most cases, it is a fairly uncomplicated procedure. It can be carried out by a plastic surgeon, an otorhinolaryngologist (ear, nose and throat surgeon) or by an oral and maxillofacial surgeon.

Reasons to get a nose job

People get rhinoplasty for two reasons. First, obvious to most, is cosmetic. Some people would prefer to have their nose somewhat different (prettier) than that issued by Mother Nature. Other reason would be correction of various defects that affect visual appearance or breathing problems related to the shape of the nose.

Nose surgery is used to alter the size of the nose, change the shape of the nose (by changing angle between the nose and the upper lip and/or by changing the shape of the tip of the nose), or change the width of the nostrils.

Procedure

Operation can be performed under local or general anesthetic, and is in most cases a single day procedure. More complicated procedures require a short stay in the hospital.

During the procedure, the changes are made to nasal bone and/or nasal cartilage. Typical changes are reshaping and removal. If for some reason normal structures of the nose are damaged or weakened beyond repair, a synthetic implant or piece of cartilage from some other place (like ear or rib) can be used to support or strengthen the nose structure. Procedure known as septoplasty is used to improve breathing through the nose. It involves removing of excess cartilage from within the nose. This procedure does not change appearance of the nose, but can be readily combined with a cosmetic procedure.

Recovery period from nose surgery is short, and it is possible to go back to work or school within a week. Surgeon's advice should be followed. There are some risks involved in the procedure, such as surgery complications, visible scars, or the need to perform a second surgery to correct errors from the first surgery. Side effects of nose surgery last a few days and include minor bleeding and overall appearance of someone whose nose was punched really hard.

Unsatisfactory outcome

In some cases, patients are not satisfied with the look of their new nose, or new shape of the nose differs from that on the blueprint. Also, result of functional surgery could be unsatisfying. Or, normal function of the nose was affected by cosmetic changes. These may call for secondary and even tertiary operations, which are much more complicated.