San Diego Nose Surgery (Rhinoplasty)
What Can Rhinoplasty Do For You?
Rhinoplasty, or surgery to reshape the nose, is one of the most common procedures in plastic surgery and is extremely gratifying for both the patient and surgeon. Patients born with a certain ethnic or family predisposition can now enjoy the nose shape of their own choice. The nose is the central feature of the face. When it is large and dominant, it overshadows the beauty and subtleties of other facial features such as the eyes and mouth. The results of rhinoplasty can have significant enhancing effects on a person’s appearance and self confidence.
Rhinoplasty Surgery Photos
Our nose surgery photos were taken of patients in San Diego who received nose surgery at Changes Plastic Surgery. Please visit our photo gallery for more nose surgery examples.
BEFORE NOSE SURGERY
AFTER NOSE SURGERY
Rhinoplasty can:
- Reduce or increase the size of your nose
- Change the shape of the tip or the bridge
- Narrow the span of the nostrils
- Change the angle between your nose and your upper lip
- Correct a birth defect or injury
- Allow better breathing function, when combined with a septoplasty
Determining Your Candidacy
The best candidates for rhinoplasty are people who are looking for improvement, not perfection, in the way they look. If you're physically healthy, and realistic in your expectations, you may be a good candidate. Traumatic nasal deformities and noses with strong ethnic features may also be modified to give a more aesthetic look to the nose. The ultimate appearance of your nose is affected by factors such as skin thickness and the structure of your cartilage and bones.
Procedure Description
All of the Changes surgeons are board-certified plastic surgeons, and the procedures are performed in a state licensed and Medicare certified surgical center, along with skilled anesthesiologists. These credentials help ensure the highest standards of care and your utmost safety.
Rhinoplasty typically takes about 1 ½ to 2 hours, though more complicated procedures may take longer. During surgery, the skin of the nose is separated from its supporting framework of bone and cartilage, which is then sculpted to the desired shape. The nature of the sculpting will depend on your desired outcome and your surgeon's preferred technique. Finally, the skin is redraped over the new framework.
Rhinoplasty can be performed as an "open technique" in which there is a small skin incision made to access the underlying structures, or a "closed" approach in which the incision is made inside the nostril.
When the surgery is complete, a splint will be applied to help your nose maintain its new shape. Nasal packs or soft plastic splints may also be placed in your nostrils to stabilize the septum, the dividing wall between the air passages.
Post-Surgical Care
After surgery, particularly during the first twenty-four hours, your face will feel puffy, your nose may ache, and you may have a dull headache. You can control any discomfort with the pain medication prescribed by your surgeon. Plan on staying in bed with your head elevated for the first day.
The swelling and bruising around your eyes will increase at first, reaching a peak after two or three days. Apply cold compresses to reduce this swelling. Most of the swelling and bruising should disappear within two weeks.
A little bleeding is common during the first few days following surgery, and you may continue to feel some stuffiness for several weeks. Your surgeon will probably ask you not to blow your nose for a week or so, while the tissues heal.
Nasal packing is rarely used. When it is, it will be removed after a few days and you'll feel much more comfortable.
Recovery
Most rhinoplasty patients are up and about within two days, and able to return to school or work a week or so following surgery. It will be several weeks however before you're entirely up to speed.
You will be given more specific guidelines for gradually resuming your normal activities. For two to three weeks, you will need to avoid any strenuous activity. Be gentle when washing your face and hair or using cosmetics.
To help ensure your successful recovery, your plastic surgeon will schedule follow-up visits in the months after surgery. If you have any unusual symptoms between visits, or any questions about what you can and can't do, don't hesitate to call our office.
Finally, due to the complexity of this procedure, slight revisions may be needed. There is approximately a 10-15% revision rate that is noted in the medical literature. Our revision rate at Changes Plastic Surgery is considerably lower than that. Any revisional surgery is usually done six months to 1 year after the initial procedure.
Your New Look
Each day, your nose will look better. Still, healing is a slow and gradual process that lasts at least one year. Most patients see dramatic improvement shortly after their surgery, and not only look better, but feel better about how they look.
Go to our rhinoplasty photo gallery.
Patient Testimonial
"It has been some time since our last contact and I hope that this letter finds you and your family well. I hope that you will also forgive the lateness of this letter. I have been meaning to write you for some time to thank you for the wonderful gift of improved self-esteem that you have given me. I never fully appreciated how much my physical appearance was holding me back until I was liberated by your artistry and talent. I feel as if the last several years have been a slow, “extreme makeover”; from the outside in. Feeling more confident about my appearance has given me the courage to return to school and excel both scholastically and in my nursing career. Now that I have completed my BSN, I feel even more empowered and liberated and for the first time in my life, I feel as if the world is full of infinite possibility. I am embarking on a whole new phase of my life, and with this new path, I feel compelled by an enormous desire to reinvent myself. It is not that I want to be someone else, rather I want to be an improved version of myself; the best “me” that I can be." -Traci