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• What is Rhinoplasty?

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What is Rhinoplasty?

The term rhinoplasty is generally used for surgery to improve the cosmetic appearance of the nose. Septoplasty or septorhinoplasty more commonly describes surgery to improve the airway but there is significant overlap. Rhinoplasty is one of the most technically demanding procedures in plastic surgery and involves increasing or decreasing (more commonly decreasing) the size of the nose and various components of the nose. Most patients come in with a very good idea of what bothers them about their nose and how aggressive they want to be in modifying it. While my general preference is to be conservative in my approach to surgery I will carefully listen to your concerns and work with you closely in planning your surgery. This will involve reviewing photographs of other patients and working with photographs of you that I will take at your first visit. I will then explain in detail the underlying anatomy that gives your nose its current appearance and how I plan to modify it. The surgery can be done with a “closed” approach where all of the incisions are internal or with an “open” approach that also includes a small incision across the columnella (the skin at the base of the nose between the nostrils). Due to the superior exposure I prefer the open approach for all but the most simple rhinoplasties.

 

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