Why Are Rhinoplasty Revision Procedures So Common?
Cosmetic nose surgery is one of the most popular facial plastic surgeries in the United States and even around the world. Patients have nose surgery for any number of reasons, but about 1 in 10 rhinoplasty patients have to also get revision rhinoplasty. Revision rhinoplasty is a procedure that will make surgical changes to a person’s nose after they have already had at least one other rhinoplasty procedure. Considering how far rhinoplasty has come in the past twenty years, why do roughly ten percent of those patients need additional surgery?
Reasons to Get Revision Rhinoplasty
To understand why revision rhinoplasty is so common, it’s important to understand the reasons why someone may want revision rhinoplasty in the first place. Some are cosmetic reasons. Patients discover that after they’ve healed, their look of their nose doesn’t match their expectations. It might be something small, like a bump in the bridge of the nose or the tip of the nose isn’t quite the right shape. It could also be something really significant, like having a nose that is turned up too high or having nostrils that are really asymmetrical.
Patients may also be interested in revision rhinoplasty for functional reasons. The nose functions in a specific way; air goes in through the two nasal passages and is cleaned and warmed before heading into the lungs. When the nose doesn’t function right, it can lead to breathing problems, which in turn lead to sleeping problems and exercise problems. Patients may want revision rhinoplasty because their previous rhinoplasty didn’t fix the functional issues they had before surgery, or to correct functional issues that developed after surgery. These can include blockages and obstructions in the nasal passage, crooked septums, or even total structural collapse.
What Causes These Kinds of Problems After Rhinoplasty?
The truth is that there are several things that could cause cosmetic and functional issues for rhinoplasty patients. Sometimes it has to do with how the nose heals. A surgeon may do everything right, but the nose heals in a way that changes how the nose looks or functions. This can just be how the body reacts to the surgery, or it can be related to the post-op care by the patient. If a patient doesn’t follow their post-op care instructions or doesn’t take care of themselves after surgery, that could cause complications with their nose.
These problems could also be related to external causes. Noses get injured all the time from car accidents, bumps or falls, playing sports, or through physical injuries caused by fights or abuse. If anything like this occurs while the nose is still healing from the previous surgery, it could cause the nasal structure to be altered, changing the way the nose looks and functions.
The choice of surgeon also comes into play here. Rhinoplasty is a costly plastic surgery, so sometimes patients will look into cheaper alternatives. Not only is this incredibly dangerous, but it can also create problems for the nose itself. The bargain plastic surgeon may know very little about the nose and can only do surgery in a limited way. They may not know anything about rhinoplasty at all. Or they may do surgery in a very unsafe way. Any time a patient uses a bargain plastic surgeon, they run the risk of having a problematic nose.
What to Do If You are Unhappy with Your Nose
Given the number of potential causes for unsatisfactory noses, it’s not really a surprise that one in ten rhinoplasty patients decide to get revision rhinoplasty. If you are one of these people who have a cosmetic or functional concern about your nose and you’ve already had at least one rhinoplasty surgery, consider getting your revision rhinoplasty from Dr. Paul Nassif. Dr. Nassif is widely regarded as one of the foremost experts in revision rhinoplasty surgery. He is a rhinoplasty and revision rhinoplasty specialist and has helped thousands of patients over his twenty year career. About 60% of Dr. Nassif’s patients at his practice are revision rhinoplasty patients and he has seen a wide range of issues and concerns from all of them. Dr. Nassif makes it his business not only to understand rhinoplasty surgery, but to work on new and better ways to improve it.
To schedule a patient consultation with Dr. Nassif for revision rhinoplasty surgery, contact Spalding Drive Plastic Surgery at (310) 275-2467.