Rhinoplasty
Rhinoplasty or usually called ‘nose job’ is performed to fix the following:
- Removal of nasal humps
- Lifting of nose tip
- Curvature of nose bridge correction
- Asymmetry of the nostrils can be adjusted.
Rhinoplasty is most often performed to correct the shape of the nose, which is cosmetic in nature but sometimes, nose job is performed on people who are not able to breathe comfortably due to the structure of the nose. It is always advisable to get the nose job done only after it is fully grown, if you are getting it done for cosmetic reasons. Females can go for nose job surgery after 15 years of age and males can go after 18 years.
Rhinoplasty approaches
There are two different approaches to perform rhinoplasty surgery:
- Closed rhinoplasty
- Open rhinoplasty
Closed rhinoplasty
In closed rhinoplasty, two incisions are made from inside the nose so that there won’t be any visible scar after the surgery. The above mentioned issues such as removal of nasal hump or lifting of nose tip or correcting the curvature etc can be performed with a closed rhinoplasty procedure. Most of the time, closed rhinoplasty is the first preferred option for any good and experienced cosmetic surgeon.
Open rhinoplasty
In open rhinoplasty, in addition to the two incisions made inside the nostrils, an additional incision is made in the columella connecting the two incisions. (Columella is the vertical separator that exists between the nostrils). Usually, an open rhinoplasty procedure is performed to correct the errors from the closed procedure. In most cases, the scar that is formed on the columella fades away.
Quick anatomy of the exterior of human nose
The external / visible part of the human nose consists of a Nasal bone sitting between the eyes. Moving down, we have a soft bone called upper alar cartilage and moving further down at the nostrils, we have lower alar cartilage. Between the lower alar cartilages of the nostrils, runs the nasal septum. This runs till the base of the nasal bone.
These are the main parts that will be cut, shaped, filled to get the desired shape of the nose.
Rhinoplasty procedure in short
In adults, general anaesthesia may be given whereas general anaesthesia is given to children. The procedure may be performed as an in-patient or an out-patient procedure depending on the complexity of the adjustments that needs to be made.
If there is extra bone to be removed or cartilage, that would be a relatively simpler procedure. If cartilage needs to be added, a little bit of cartilage is taken from the ear and when a lot of it is needed, a bone graft may be used. Open or closed procedure may be performed as per the need and once the surgery is done, dissolvable stitches will be used to close the incisions. Once the surgery is done, thermoplastic splint will be placed on the nasal bridge to hold the changes in place.
What do you need to avoid during recovery after rhinoplasty surgery?
- Running or swift walking that can lead to a vibrating nose
- Swimming or any type of contact with water
- Blowing the nose or chewing hard stuff
- You can just smile, how much you may want to laugh.
- Avoid eye glasses
- Wearing of dresses from over the head etc.
In short, any kind of disturbance to the nose should be avoided.
