Nasal Surgery for Aesthetics and Health
Rhinoplasty, or surgery that is used to reshape, reduce or augment a person’s nose, is one of the most commonly performed plastic surgery procedures. With rhinoplasty, a plastic surgeon can narrow the width of the nostrils, remove a hump, change the relation between the nose and mouth and generally make the nose’s appearance more appealing.
With rhinoplasty your plastic surgeon can change:
- The size of an out of proportion nose
- The width of the nose
- A profile with a visible nose hump or depression
- A nasal tip that is drooping or upturned
- Overly wide nostrils
- Nasal asymmetry
Rhinoplasty has other uses that can correct health issues. Patients with birth defects that affect the nose can benefit from plastic surgery. The procedure can also be used to correct problems with breathing and the airway. Rhinoplasty performed for health reasons may be covered by your medical insurance.
Many Nasal Surgery Approaches and Procedures are Available
At Plastic Surgery Specialists of South Florida we generally perform two variations of the rhinoplasty procedure. In one we operate on the airways and in the other we do not. Rhinoplasty is meant to reshape the nose while septoplasty works with the partition inside the nose. When possible, the Rhinoplasty will be endonasal, or closed surgery, where the incision is hidden inside the nose. In open rhinoplasty the incision is made across the columella, the narrow strip that separates the nostrils. In this case, the skin of the nose can be pulled back to allow your doctor greater access to perform more complicated and precise work.
Nasal surgery is performed under anesthesia. Depending on the requirements of the procedure, this could be either general anesthesia or intravenous sedation. Your plastic surgeon will then begin the work of reshaping the nose by removing or repositioning bone and cartilage, and sometimes adding cartilage grafts, possibly from the septum or even the ear. Once the reshaping is complete, the skin and tissue are replaced and the incision is closed. Nasal surgery is usually an outpatient procedure that can take one or two hours to complete.
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