The Nose Knows

A rhinoplasty, or nose job, is one of my favorite surgeries. It deals with the small, not the large. It requires a sincere grasp of three-dimensional sculpting. It is technically complex and requires a real attention to detail. Furthermore, it also requires that you have a full grasp of facial aesthetics. Changes planned with a nose job must also work with the rest of your face. Cultural backgrounds must also be honored, and restraint in regard to the surgical approach is often necessary. Thus, it is all these complexities and subtleties with nose jobs that offers a welcomed professional challenge to me on a weekly basis.

Nose jobs have 4 areas of focus: the tip, profile, bridge, and septum.

Area 1: The Tip of Your Nose

Often, this area is widened or misshapen. Surgically adjusting the shape and location of the cartilage of the tip of the nose can make it appear more refined and balanced. Depending on your presentation, the tip of your nose can also be raised or lowered.

Area 2: The Profile of Your Nose

People often come into my clinic complaining about a bump on their nose. They really hate how that bump makes their nose more visible from the profile, especially in photos! Therefore, as these bumps are comprised of both cartilage and bone, the excess of each is removed. This smooths out your profile and establishes a more desirable contour. Most importantly, your profile in photos will look better!

Area 3: The Bridge of Your Nose

Often, the nasal bridge is wide and needs to be narrowed. As the width of your nose is primarily dictated by the location of your nasal bones, these are repositioned to a narrower position. Although this maneuver is very transformative, it is also where most of the bruising comes from with this surgery. Trust me, the bruising is temporary and definitely worth it, as this often gives the most improvement to the nose.

Area 4: The Septum of Your Nose

The septum is the support structure that holds up your nose. It is also the barrier that separates the right and left nasal airways. Often, people complain that their nose is not straight and they have difficulty breathing through their nose. If your septum is crooked or bowed, this may be the reason your nose is not straight. This is easily addressed at the time of surgery with a septoplasty. A septoplasty takes out the crooked area of the septum so that the nose will appear straighter.

Nose jobs are fairly quick surgeries and take me only 1 to 1.5 hours to complete. General anesthesia is recommended, but the procedure can also be completed with intravenous sedation. We offer all surgical approaches in our office, including closed and open rhinoplasty techniques. The recovery is relatively short, and the discomfort is manageable with oral medications. The nose is often swollen for up to a few months after surgery, but the swelling will diminish by 50% within 2 weeks of the surgery and become manageable until it diminishes.

Check out our podcast on nose jobs, which is a great resource and goes into the details on my approach to this surgery. We also have a few short videos on our rhinoplasty procedure page to give even more information on this topic. Good luck!