Rhinoplasty

ABOUT THE PROCEDURE

Rhinoplasty is generally an outpatient procedure that can be performed in a hospital, ambulatory surgical facility or an in-office surgical suite. It requires either local anesthesia with IV sedation or general anesthesia. An overnight stay in the hospital or a special recovery facility may be recommended. You can request either option if it will make you feel more comfortable.

To determine the approach to your rhinoplasty, your surgeon should carefully evaluate your overall facial appearance, proportion and structure, while taking your medical history, ethnicity and personal goals into account. Alterations may include:

-Eliminating bumps and irregularities on the bridge
-Lowering a high bridge or raising a low bridge
-Narrowing a wide bridge
-Turning a tip up or down
-Reducing or enlarging a nasal tip
-Changing the size and position of nostrils

We've all heard the myth that the nose must be broken during rhinoplasty. The truth is that a broken nose is one that suffered accidental trauma. In nose surgery today, the smallest possible instruments are used to cut and shape structures of the nose, including the bone. Nothing is broken, per se.

Rhinoplasty is performed either as an open or a closed procedure. The best approach for you is determined by the structural changes to be made to your nose and by your surgeon's preference. In a closed procedure, incisions are hidden within the nose, though some surgeons feel that this can limit the extent of a rhinoplasty. An open procedure requires an additional incision across the narrow strip of tissue that separates the nostrils.

When it comes to stitches, dissolving sutures are used internally, and dissolving or removable sutures close any external incisions. You will wake up after rhinoplasty with a splint covering your nose and small tubes may be placed in your nose for a short time to prevent draining fluid from being swallowed. It's also possible that you may have packing to support the nose internally as it heals. No matter how cumbersome or uncomfortable, you shouldn't remove any splints or packing without your surgeon's permission.

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