Nose Jobs

What Rhinoplasty Can Achieve
Rhinoplasty is a surgical procedure aimed to re-contouring and resizing the nose to make it more attractive and symmetrical to other facial features. Rhinoplasty can remove nasal flaws and can change:

• Size of the nose: nose job can increase or decrease the height or width of the nose
• Profile of the nose: bumps can be removed and depressions filled out
• Nose tip, if it is too upturned, too drooping, or bulbous
• Wide and upturned nostrils
• Crooked, asymmetrical, or deviated nose

Preparing for rhinoplasty

During your pre-surgical consultation, you have to discuss a number of factors that will play a vital role in the success of your nose job. Pre-surgical consultation typically includes:

• You will be subjected to medical evaluation to find out if you have bleeding illness, internal illness, or other medical conditions that may complicate a surgery.
• Complete physical examination that includes blood, urine, and other laboratory tests will also be carried out to find out if you are physically fit for the surgery. For instance, if you have a cold, you might be advised to wait until you are well before the doctor will perform the nose job on you. The skin on the inside and outside of your nose will also be analyzed.

Photographs of your face and nose from different angles will also be taken for pre-and post-surgical analysis. The photos will also be used to compare your nose before and after, and to assess just how successful the surgery went.

A discussion of your expectations, and how far rhinoplasty can meet those expectations.

What To Avoid Before And After The Surgery

In order to ensure that you get a successful nose job, certain preparations and precautions have to be taken.

Before the surgery:

• Aspirin or ibuprofen, inflammatory drugs, and herbal medicines tend to increase bleeding so you should stop taking them approximately two weeks prior to the surgery. During medical evaluation/ consultation, inform the doctor of your current medications so you’d get the proper advice on what to temporarily stop taking.

• Take multi-vitamin supplements especially those rich in C, E, and iron since they have wonderful healing properties.
• Avoid too much sun exposure one week before the surgery and up to three months after the surgery to prevent skin discoloration or irregular skin coloration of the nose.

For several weeks after the surgery:

• Avoid doing strenuous activities (such as exercising and swimming) after the surgery.
• Avoid wearing eyeglasses and sunglasses as it may cause indentation on the nasal bridge area.
• Sleep with your head tilted higher than the level of your chest.

Risks

Since rhinoplasty is an invasive procedure, risks and complications may likely arise. Signing of consent forms is required prior to the surgery to make sure that you have understood and accepted the risks involved in the procedure.

Most post-surgical complications are minor and include swelling, bruising, numbness, and infection. More serious post-surgical problems that may arise include nasal asymmetry, hematoma, permanent nerve damage, adverse reaction to anesthesia, scarring, and pulmonary complications. Though major complications rarely arise in post-nose job procedures, knowing these risks is essential in weighing the relation of benefit-risk in rhinoplasty. That is, if the potential benefits outweigh the potential risks. To learn more about common side effects, read our nose job side effects article.

What to expect after the surgery

The procedure may last 1 to 3 hours, and requires local or general anesthesia depending on how complex your particular procedure is going to be. Since you are under anesthesia, expect no pain during the surgery.

An overnight stay may be required, though some patients are allowed to go home the same day.

A splint will be placed inside your nose and cast or bandages outside to support and protect your nasal tissue and cartilage during initial healing. Expect a lot of bruising and swelling especially the first week after the surgery. The swelling may not fully dissipate for months to a year, though the swelling will no longer be visible to casual observer on the 6th to 8th week.

Follow-up visits to your surgeon is also necessary to monitor the progress of your new nose.