Nose Surgery

The particular needs of a patient determine the kind of nose surgery a doctor performs. No two noses are alike. The appearance of the nose and the desired effect guide the type of surgery the patient undergoes. Variations include alterations to increase or decrease the nasal bridge; reduction of the size or width of the nose, narrowing or widening of the nostrils, reshaping and improving the definition of the nasal tip, or changing the angle between the nose and the upper lip. There are two types of rhinoplasty. A closed rhinoplasty procedure involves surgery through the inside of the nose via small incisions inside the nostrils. In open rhinoplasty, a doctor makes a small incision across the vertical strip of tissue separating the nostrils. An open rhinoplasty offers clearer view of the nasal structures. In both the open or closed rhinoplasty approaches, a plastic surgeon sculpts the nose framework out of bone and cartilage into the desired shape. The surgeon may reshape or reposition the bones in the nose as necessary. He can build up certain areas, using either nasal cartilage or bones and cartilage from other parts of the body. The doctor then re-drapes the skin and soft tissues over the reshaped bone and cartilage structure. To fix the size of the nostrils, the doctor excises small wedges of skin and subcutaneous tissue at the base of the nostrils. The surgeon hides the resulting scars in the natural creases of the nose. A turbinectomy procedure corrects breathing problems. Turbinates are prominences in the nasal passage that warm and humidify the air as a person breathes it in. In certain instances, the turbinates obstruct the passage of air. In such cases, a turbinectomy can open the nasal air passage by reducing the size of the turbinates. The nasal septum is a midline-dividing wall within the nose that separates the right side of the nose from the left. If the septum, made of cartilage, shifts from the midline to either side it can obstruct air passage. Such septum deviation results from a genetic predisposition or from trauma. A septoplasty corrects a deviated septum and the associated airway obstruction.