RHINOPLASTY

Not everyone has a perfect nose. What graced your lovely face as a child can dance off to one side, with distortion and heaviness. It may be a family nose, but why does it have to be yours?

We all have a body image stored in our psyche. We recognize ourselves just as others recognize us. That image can become distorted. Our nose continues to grow as we age. The shape may change subtly over time, or rapidly with an injury. When we fail to recognize ourselves, or just don’t like what we see, it’s time to consider a rhinoplasty.

Closed vs. Open

The nose is made up of bone, cartilage, and skin. During rhinoplasty, we reshape the underlying bone and cartilage and drape the skin to make the new nasal shape. This operation can be performed closed with entirely internal incisions (within the nostrils) or open with a combination of internal and external incisions. The choice depends on the surgeon’s decision of what they need to get the best and most long-lasting result, and the patient’s anatomy.

Perhaps the most important feature in performing a rhinoplasty is determining the patient’s expectations. To that end, surgeons have relied on a number of different techniques. Some draw on the patients. Some make drawings of the patients, some show prior patients, and some look at the pictures that the patients provide as a guide to what they want. The best approach is to demonstrate the hoped for result with computer imaging. Seeing what the surgeon thinks they would like to achieve is a pretty good way to see if the patient agrees.

Risks can occur in any operation. A rhinoplasty could reduce the size of the nasal airway. This is usually not an issue, but has to be considered with a competitive athlete. Infections are very rare, and the need for secondary procedures is uncommon.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons announced that 243,000 rhinoplasties were performed in 2012. This is a very common procedure and is in great demand.

How a rhinoplasty is performed in any individual patient is based on the patient’s desires, expectations, and anatomy. No two patients are exactly alike, so no two operations are exactly alike. With Dr. Geldner’s superior skill, 25 years of experience, and his experienced and compassionate staff, we exceed our patients’ expectations.