Rhinoplasty Questions

What will rhinoplasty do for me?

Rhinoplasty can serve both cosmetic and functional purposes:

• Cosmetically, the procedure can straighten a crooked nose, reduce a nose that is long or too wide, remove a dorsal hump, taper the tip, narrow the nostril span, and correct alignment and angle in relationship to the lip area.
• Functionally, a septoplasty may be performed in conjunction with rhinoplasty to relieve breathing problems.

How is the surgery performed?

Rhinoplasty is normally performed under general anesthesia, and takes several hours. In some cases local anesthesia with IV sedation can be used.  It can be accomplished with either a “closed” or “open” approach.  Both approaches involve incisions inside the nose; however, the open approach also utilizes a small incision in the base of the nose know as the columella, leaving an inconspicuous scar.  The open approach has the advantage of allowing more accurate sculpting of the tip structure. 

What is the best age for rhinoplasty?

Except in cases of severe disfigurement, nose surgery is not performed on young people who are still developing.  While everyone develops at a different rate, the average acceptable age for rhinoplasty is at least 16 years old.

What is the recovery like?

A splint is placed on the bridge of the nose for one week.  The internal stitches will dissolve.  Any external stitches will be removed after a week.  Bruising and swelling will usually subside within two weeks.  You may have some nasal congestion, which will usually resolve in seven to ten days.  After the splint is removed most of the improvement will be visible, but the final appearance could take as long as a year to become fully evident.

How long does a rhinoplasty procedure take?

Surgical time for rhinoplasty depends on the extent of the procedure (such as whether a septoplasty is necessary) but generally takes two to three hours.

Do I stay in the hospital?

Rhinoplasty is generally performed as an outpatient procedure.

How much pain is there after rhinoplasty?

There can be moderate pain after rhinoplasty surgery but it is usually not severe.  In general there is a fair amount of nasal congestion after the procedure, which takes about ten days to resolve. 

If you have any additional questions about Rhinoplasty, contact us or schedule an initial consultation to speak directly Dr. Bottger.

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