Do I need a nose job? : Considerations before the procedure

‘Want to be pretty? Why not have plastic surgery?’ This mindset is a product of how social media markets beauty products that make people, especially teens think badly of their own skin. They will not think of themselves as beautiful unless they are able to use product X or undergo a type of procedure advertised as the only solution for so-and-so. It should then be advised by health specialists and beauty experts to let a patient undergo a comprehensive medical consultation with a doctor before going under the knife just to educate them if there really is a need for plastic surgery. For instance, as rhinoplasty is one of the top 5 most common plastic surgery procedures in the world, let us answer the question, ‘do I need a nose job?’ so as to direct everyone’s attention on what to consider before deciding to push through with the operation.

 

What you need to know about rhinoplasty surgery

 

It is not just a nose reshaping surgery. It is a relative idea that rhinoplasty or nose job is a procedure to enhance or improve the size and shape of the nose. But did you know that rhinoplasty can also help address some medical problems? Yes! Patients with medical conditions like sleep apnea, deviated septum, and congenital deformities like cleft palate are advised or recommended to undergo rhinoplasty to alter the nasal structures that may have caused the medical issue. Having a nose job not only clears and improves the airway and breathing (for sleep apnoea and deviated septum), it can also aid in the proper intake of food (for cleft palate patients). This feature of a nose job makes it a unique plastic surgery procedure, as it is not performed just for aesthetics but for functional reasons as well.

 

Rhinoplasty surgery is a major operation. You may think that a nose job is so simple because the nose is just a small part of the face. On the contrary, this is a complicated major surgical procedure that needs the proficiency of a plastic surgeon. There are even surgeons who dedicate their profession in performing rhinoplasty only, making them experts in this cosmetic and reconstructive procedure. Having a nose job may require you to go under general anesthesia and sometimes stay in the hospital overnight.

 

Rhinoplasty surgery is not for everyone. ‘Do I need a nose job?’ is not the only question that a doctor needs to answer. One that should be known first is if you can be a candidate for a rhinoplasty procedure. There are some criteria that need to be satisfied in order for you to become eligible for a nose job. You have to be:

• Physically healthy
• Aged 17 and above with well-developed facial structures
• A non-smoker
• Realistic with set goals and expectations

 

A nose job can do different things to your nose. Depending on your needs, your plastic surgeon has different techniques to address them one-by-one. They can perform rhinoplasty with septoplasty (to fix a deviated septum), turbinoplasty (to fix flaring nose), or alarplasty (to narrow or reshape the sides of the nasal base).

 

There are risks associated with rhinoplasty surgery. If you want to know the answer to the question, ‘do I need a nose job?’, one of the questions you also need answers from is ‘is rhinoplasty safe?’. The answer would depend on your overall health status, the expertise of your surgeon, and the realistic expectations you have for the surgery. But even if you have an expert surgeon, in the pink of health, and have achievable goals for your look, there will still be a possibility that a complication may happen. It is best to discuss with your plastic surgeon beforehand the foreseeable risks and complications of having a nose job (like breathing problems, excessive bleeding, infection, pain and tenderness, anaesthesia side effects, nasal asymmetry, etc.) and what he intends to do if such situation unfolds.

 

Your rhinoplasty surgery may be ‘scarless’. By scarless, we mean no visible marks post-operation can be noted. Depending on your condition and the extent of alteration that needs to be done, your plastic surgeon may perform closed or open rhinoplasty. In open rhinoplasty, cuts to the nose are located inside the nose, with a small incision in between the nostrils to widen the visualised area that the surgeon needs to inspect and manipulate. This technique is intended for advanced stages of rhinoplasty. On the other hand, if minor changes are only needed, a closed technique can be performed where all the incisions are located inside the nose. This makes your nose job scar-free in the eyes of on-lookers.

Recovery period post-rhinoplasty may have you off work. Because your rhinoplasty surgery is still considered a major operation, your doctor may opt for you to go under general anaesthesia, so you can expect that you would need to at least stay in the hospital overnight. Moreover, the nose is an integral part of our respiratory system, so surgeries involving this would affect our overall health. It is then imperative for a patient to stay at least 2 weeks off work in order for all the surgical incisions to heal and the body regains its ability to perform his daily activities without complications. During the two-week rest, pain and tenderness may keep the patient uncomfortable so potent pain medications may be prescribed, rendering them unfit to work. Light movements and exercise can be allowed after a few days but strict work and lifting restrictions, as well as movement limitations, would be imposed.

 

Final results may take up to a year before becoming noticeable. After the surgery, common effects that a patient would feel may include tenderness, swelling, bruising that reaches your eyes, loss of sensation (especially on the tip), bleeding, and many more. You can also experience difficulty when breathing because of the splints inside your nose and the swelling. Your body may recover well after the surgery, but your nose may still feel the effects even after a few months. For some, the swelling and seasonal tenderness of loss of sensation may happen on-and-off, making it hard for one to appreciate the final results of their surgery. Continue your regular appointments with your doctor so he can guide you and monitor your recovery and progress, and he can also show you the difference that the procedure made on your facial profile.

There is a nonsurgical rhinoplasty. ‘Do I need a nose job?’ If you are still unprepared to undergo the surgery after all the information you gathered while reading this article and researching about it, maybe you can chance upon reading and researching about nonsurgical rhinoplasty. Also known as injection rhinoplasty or liquid rhinoplasty, this procedure is a temporary way to cosmetically enhance the shape, size, and height of your nose. Dermal fillers, mostly using hyaluronic acid, are injection to the nose to remove bumps, straighten it out, and make your flat nose look enhanced with height. Learn more of this non-invasive, nonsurgical cosmetic option when you visit our practice so we can assess your condition and come up with a unique treatment plan for you.