Rhinoplasty—or nose surgery or nose job—refers to procedures aimed at restoring a balanced look to a person’s nose and face by making structural adjustments through the use of surgery. Using modern surgical techniques the results are more natural looking and rapid surgery recovery times are possible.
There are many methods used to perform nose surgery, from silicone implants and anaplasty to open techniques involving the use of ear cartilage, rib cartilage, fatty tissue, skin grafts, or tissue grafts from the patient’s own body.
Rhinoplasty using silicone implants
Silicone implants have been popular for many years, as this is a relatively minor form of surgery that saves time and accelerates recovery times. Experienced surgeons are able to use this type of surgery to augment or reshape the nose using silicone implants according to the patient’s desired outcome. In certain cases, open techniques can be used along with silicone implants, while some surgeries may even utilize an acellular dermal matrix (a type of surgical mesh) to improve the esthetic result and reduce the likelihood of complications. However, this type of surgery may not be suitable for patients with smaller noses or noses with structural irregularities.
Open rhinoplasty
Open techniques are those that involve making structural changes to the nose and its cartilage. This type of surgery is only suited to patients with structural irregularities, such as a large nasal bone, a large nasal bump, or a completely misshapen or deformed nose, whether present since birth or resulting from a previously unsuccessful nose surgery. Open techniques rely on grafts taken from other areas of the body, such as ear or rib cartilage, to adjust the nose’s structure. These are major forms of surgery, so a general anesthetic and hospital stay are necessary due to the increased time needed to make a full recovery. While the results of these surgeries depend on the amount of tissue available, the main benefit of open techniques is that the tissue used is the patient’s own, meaning the outcomes are often desirable because patients need not worry about issues surrounding the use of silicone or other foreign material.
Alarplasty
Alarplasty can help patients achieve a more proportional look to their nose, improving its esthetic appearance while reducing any misshapenness. Alarplasty can also be performed alongside other forms of rhinoplasty.