NOSE SHAPING

By the time you are a teenager, your nose is fully developed, and this shape and size of your nose is inherited from your parents.

A surgery can be done to change the way your nose looks, to change shape, size from the tip to the bridge of your nose, which includes your nostrils. It is very important to be specific on what shape and size you want your nose to be.

This shape, and size can be change, for various reasons, and one of them could be an injury, or cosmetic reasons.

What happens during nose reshaping?

The operation takes up to 3 hours , it depends from case to case.

Reduction rhinoplasty

If you are changing the shape of your nose, and making it smaller then your surgeon would usually make cuts, inside the nostrils to reach the bone and the cartilage, sometimes a cut is also made across the skin between the nostrils(the columella) and this technique is called “open rhinoplasty”.

Some of the bone and cartilage, would be removed, or rearranged to achieve the shape you have agreed with you surgeon, the skin over your nose wont be touched , but it will shrink down to the new shape.It is also necessary that you make your nostrils smaller to keep your features in proportion. The surgeon will need to make a cut in the skin of your nostrils to do this, and this will leave fine scars on each side.

Augmentation rhinoplasty

If you are making your nose larger, or giving your nose more bulk, then your surgeon may make a cut inside, or between the nostrils and reshape the bone and cartilage, You may also need extra bone or cartilage (a graft) to build up your nose. The surgeon would take some cartilage, from the ears, or ribs, and bone from the back of your elbow, skull or hip bone. Sometimes artificial implants are used.

The cuts made by the surgeon, inside the nose are closed by using dissolving sutures, so that they don't need to be removed. This is done after a week of the operation.

What are the risks?

There are some risks associated with nose reshaping,but depends. According the type of surgery, ask your surgeon to explain how these risks apply to you.

Side-effects

The side effects of nose reshaping include:

  • Swelling, bruising, soreness particularly around the eyes
  • Stiffness and numbness, at the tip of the nose/numbness can last a few months, also the inability to breathe through the nose, which reduces as the swelling goes down

Complications

Complications can arise, during the surgery or after the surgery, these possible complications, may include an unexpected reaction anaesthesia, infection, excessive bleeding or developing a blood clot, in the leg (DVT)

Usually it is very rare for complications to arise with nose shaping, however they may include:

  • Bleeding of the nose, after the surgery, or after about 10 days.
  • An implant pushing, out through the lining of the nose,, this can happen several months later or several years , if a larger implant was used or if an injury has occurred.
  • If the implant is protruding through the nose, then the only option is to remove it, and replace a new implant after the nose heals.
  • Damage to the septum
  • Or if the patient is not satisfied with the cosmetic surgery.