What Kind of Rhinoplasty Procedure is Right For Me?
Nose jobs have come a long way in the past couple decades. Surgeons have a solid understanding of how a nose is supposed to look for a wide variety of faces, genders, and ethnicities. There are also a number of different types of rhinoplasty procedures. Whether you are having your first nose job or a repeat nose job, you should know what your options are for your rhinoplasty surgery.
The Different Types of Rhinoplasty Surgery
Cosmetic Rhinoplasty
This is easily the most common rhinoplasty procedure selected by nose job patients around the country. Cosmetic rhinoplasty involves making changes to the way the nose looks. Sometimes this only requires making external adjustments to the nose, but most of the time it requires making changes to the way the nose is structured internally. Noses can be made larger, smaller, wider, or narrower depending on the different techniques used by the surgeon. The overall shape of the nose or the shape of the nasal tip can also be changed.
These changes are made by removing or reshaping the internal cartilage of the nose. Sometimes implants or grafts are also needed to achieve the right look.
Functional Rhinoplasty
Noses don’t always require aesthetic changes to have rhinoplasty surgery. Functional rhinoplasty is a type of rhinoplasty that can improve the nose’s overall function. A patient may have difficulty breathing as a result of a genetic abnormality, growths, or an injury. Most of the time this involves fixing the septum, which is the large piece of cartilage right down the middle of your nose. This type of rhinoplasty often involves using cartilage grafts or a synthetic implant to repair the septum, also known as a septoplasty.
Ethnic Rhinoplasty
Not all noses are the same between ethnicities. In fact, some nasal characteristics are very unique to a specific ethnicity. Ethnic rhinoplasty changes the nose to enhance the appearance or function while remaining true to the patient’s heritage. For example, patients of Asian descent often have wider and flatter noses with a rounder tip. If an Asian patient wanted to make their nose narrower and change the shape of their tip, ethnic rhinoplasty will make that happen without giving them a non-Asian nose. On the flip side, if an Asian patient had a particularly narrow nose and wanted it to better match their face, ethnic rhinoplasty can also achieve that. The goal for ethnic rhinoplasty is reshape the patient’s nose while preserving the patient’s heritage and ethnicity.
Ethnic rhinoplasty also has several subtypes, such as Middle Eastern rhinoplasty, African-American rhinoplasty, and Asian rhinoplasty.
Revision Rhinoplasty
This type of rhinoplasty is reserved for patients who have already had at least one previous nose job. These patients are looking for another rhinoplasty because something about their last one wasn’t right. This will happen sometimes when you go see a bargain plastic surgeon or when you have your surgery done by a doctor who isn’t qualified to do rhinoplasty surgery. It might be that the surgery was successful, but your body isn’t responding well to the surgery. For example, if you get an infection because your body is rejecting an implant used in your previous rhinoplasty. Getting revision rhinoplasty might have nothing to do with the previous surgeon or surgery itself, but rather as a result of an accident or a serious injury to your nose. For some patients, they are just not completely satisfied with how their new nose turned out.
Whatever the motivation is for getting rhinoplasty surgery, the procedure can help you get the nose that you want if you go to a qualified revision rhinoplasty surgeon. This procedure is more complex than a primary rhinoplasty (the first nose job) because the surgeon now has to contend with scar tissue and any grafts or implants used in the previous surgery.
How to Choose Your Rhinoplasty Surgery
The great thing about rhinoplasty is that one surgery can involve using multiple rhinoplasty types. A patient can get a functional rhinoplasty as well as a cosmetic rhinoplasty, or a revision ethnic rhinoplasty, or a revision functional rhinoplasty. The type of rhinoplasty you choose will depend on what your specific nose needs, and each patient has their own unique issues.
After reading these descriptions, you might already have a notion of what type of rhinoplasty you want, but if you aren’t sure, you can consult with a rhinoplasty expert. Dr. Paul Nassif is widely regarded as one of the foremost experts in all types of rhinoplasty, including the ones previously discussed. He has seen thousands of patients from all over the country and has addressed many different concerns and issues for his patients. Dr. Nassif can help you determine the best rhinoplasty surgery for your nose during your patient consultation. At this time he will examine the inside and outside of your nose and talk to you about what your ideal nose would look like. Based on your unique facial structure and the condition of your nose, Dr. Nassif will help you get the best nose possible using the most advanced technology and expertise.
To schedule a patient consultation for rhinoplasty surgery with Dr. Nassif, contact Spalding Drive Plastic Surgery at (310) 275-2467 today.