Rhinoplasty

Rhinoplasty is surgery involving nasal shape, supporting structures or function. Appearance and breathing belong in the same assessment, although not every breathing symptom comes from a structure that surgery can correct. Planning considers facial proportions, skin characteristics, cartilage and bone, together with previous injuries or procedures. The objective is a reasoned individual change, not a copy of a nose shown in a reference photograph.

Rhinoplasty can involve external form, internal support, or both. Planning considers facial proportions, skin and cartilage, previous injury or surgery, and breathing. The final result develops gradually and cannot be guaranteed.

Before your appointment, you can write down what troubles you most and when you notice it. Describe in your own words what you would like to change and what you would prefer to keep. A photograph may help explain a question without becoming a target. Consultation is a place to clarify wishes together, not a situation in which you must already know the right technique or decide on surgery immediately.

Bring practical questions into the discussion too. How much time can you arrange away from work? Who could help at home if needed? Are there trips, celebrations or particular work commitments planned for the coming months? Sharing these circumstances helps make the plan compatible with your life. Ask for clarification whenever something remains unclear, and ask how to reach your treating team before and after surgery. General website content is not a personal decision or treatment plan.

Before-and-after photographs show individual patient situations. When looking at them, consider what interests you and what you would like to ask during your own consultation. Another person’s photographs do not promise the same change for you. Say if the examples raise concerns or suggest a change that feels too extensive. Your own goal need not match a gallery example, and there is no need to rush a surgical decision. You can request the proposed plan in writing and return to your questions later.

Rhinoplasty can use an open or closed approach. Incisions, work on cartilage and bone, and any reinforcement of support depend on the goals and examination. An open approach may include an incision between the nostrils; a closed approach uses incisions inside the nose. Anaesthesia and estimated duration are explained individually. Planning for revision surgery may differ substantially from planning a first operation on previously untreated tissues.

• Discuss appearance, breathing, injury, allergy, and previous procedures
• Examine external and internal nasal structure
• Use standardized photographs to support a realistic planning discussion
• Review limitations, revision risk, and the long settling period

Rhinoplasty risks concern both appearance and function. Breathing may remain unchanged or become more difficult, and contour irregularities or asymmetry may remain. Prolonged swelling, changes in smell and further surgery are also possible. Scar tissue and remaining support structures become particularly important in revision surgery. Risks and alternatives are assessed in consultation; another patient’s result cannot predict the result that you will experience.

• Bleeding, infection, scarring, and anaesthesia-related complications
• Persistent swelling, numbness, asymmetry, contour irregularity, or altered smell
• New or persistent breathing difficulty
• An unsatisfactory result or need for revision surgery