If you are not happy with the angle of your nose and you would like to reshape it or make it smaller or larger, to make some corrections and eliminate all defects, then rhinoplasty is what you are looking for.
Some structural changes that include cartilage and bones’ incisions and even removal are made by the surgeon during rhinoplasty. There are no noticeable marks after the surgery. All excessive tissue is also removed, or in case there is no enough, it may be added from another body part. The surgeon drapes the tissue and skin to cover the nose’s structure after reshaping and rearranging the cartilage and bones. The new shape has to be supported by a splint that is placed outside while the process of recovery goes on. Some surgeons even use nasal packing for additional support.
Before rhinoplasty, either local or general anesthesia is applied. This procedure may require 1 day stay in a clinic, but usually is considered outpatient. The specialists that perform this procedure should have specialization in otolaryngology and plastic surgery or either of them.
After the surgery, the packing that is placed inside the nose is usually removed in 2 days and a week later the bandaging and splints are also removed. You should be prepared to see your face puffy for a few days after the surgery, especially the area around the nose and eyes. To reduce the swelling and pain, you can apply cold compresses. If that doesn’t work efficiently, you might be prescribed some pain medicine. Usually the bruising and swelling will improve for 2 weeks.
Another inconvenience for the first several days right after the surgery is that the patient should stay still and keep his head elevated. He will not be able to do strenuous activities for some period of time to avoid complications.
People usually opt for rhinoplasty, as they are not happy with their nose’s proportion compared to the rest of their face. Some of the patients would like to change its size, angle and shape, while some have breathing problems and chronic congestion caused by structural problems.
Depending on the correction done on the nose, the results may be visible and significant or minor and almost invisible. In order to receive the required results, the patient and the surgeon should agree on the surgery’s goals.
The results of this surgery are usually permanent and rhinoplasty is not applied on children. The nose should be fully developed to apply this procedure, otherwise the further nose’s development will alter the results of the surgery and might cause many complications.
There are some risks that people who would like to go trough the rhinoplasty should be aware of. Except for the temporary bruising and swelling, some other problems might be bleeding, septum holes or injury, infection, skin problems, like skin necrosis or skin tissue breakdown, irritation from bandaging, nasal blockage and anesthesia complications. Often some antibiotics are prescribed preventively to avoid or reduce some of these risks. Another risk is to not be satisfied with the results of the surgery that is why you need to have realistic expectations regarding the results to not be disappointed in the end.