How Is Rhinoplasty Both Cosmetic and Functional?

Key Things You’ll Learn About Rhinoplasty Surgery

  • What is rhinoplasty?
  • How does cosmetic rhinoplasty differ from functional rhinoplasty?
  • Is rhinoplasty a painful procedure?
  • What’s recovery like after rhinoplasty?
  • Why choose Primera and Dr. Gross for your rhinoplasty?

Is Rhinoplasty Surgery Both Cosmetic and Functional? 

Let’s talk about your nose for a second. The nose serves both a cosmetic function, providing symmetry to your face, and a functional purpose, allowing air to flow smoothly in and out of the body. 

If you’re struggling to breathe out of your nose, or if you aren’t happy with its shape, one medical procedure called a rhinoplasty can solve both problems.

Can Rhinoplasty Improve Your Breathing?

Tami Linder, Medical Aesthetician at Primera Plastic Surgery and Med Spa, underwent a rhinoplasty with Edward J. Gross, M.D., double board-certified facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon. 

While the initial surgery was cosmetic in its approach, Dr. Gross discovered some underlying breathing issues that he was also able to correct with the procedure.

Tami says, “Not only did it correct my nose cosmetically, but it also improved my breathing as well. I definitely breathe much better now.” 

What does having a rhinoplasty involve? Is a nose job painful? We have answers to help you understand the rhinoplasty process, as told through the eyes of Tami, a patient of Primera Plastic surgery. 

What Is Rhinoplasty?

Rhinoplasty is a medical procedure that changes the shape of your nose. There are two purposes a rhinoplasty serves—the first is to alter the shape of the nose for aesthetic reasons, and the second is to improve airflow.

When you consult with your doctor about rhinoplasty, they will consider many factors, such as your other facial features, the skin on and around your nose, and your desired results. If you’re a good candidate for surgery, your surgeon will then develop a customized plan for you.

Before the rhinoplasty procedure, the patient is placed under anesthesia. Then, the doctor makes a precision cut to enter the nasal cavity, composed of skin, cartilage, and bone—once inside, the doctor will surgically reshape the underlying structure to produce the desired results.

Rhinoplasty is a complex, delicate procedure. Because small cuts can have a dramatic impact on the appearance and function of your nose, it’s important to work with a surgeon who has years of experience performing the surgery.

How Does Cosmetic Rhinoplasty Differ From Functional Rhinoplasty?

The goal of cosmetic rhinoplasty is to modify the shape of the nose to improve its appearance. Bone, cartilage, and skin may be altered to achieve the results requested by the patient. 

Tami sought the procedure with Dr. Gross because she says, “I did find, as I was getting older, that my nose in pictures was getting a little bulbous, a little wider, so I wanted that corrected.” 

Cosmetic rhinoplasty is often used to correct:

  • A nasal tip that is too bulbous, hooked, or large
  • How your nose appears in proportion to the rest of your face
  • Humps or bumps in the bridge of your nose
  • Flared or upturned nostrils
  • The size of the nose

Correcting the proportion of your nose in relation to the rest of your face is all in a day’s work for Orlando facial reconstructive surgeons like Dr. Gross. Tami sought the procedure with a clear idea of what she wanted from surgery—for Dr. Gross, reshaping her nose meant following Tami’s specific instructions to create her desired appearance. 

She says, “With the rhinoplasty, I didn’t want my nose to look very different—just a subtle difference. With the widening of the nose, I wanted it a little bit more narrow, so my nose still looked like my nose, but a better version.”

Tami was surprised to learn that during the rhinoplasty surgery, Dr. Gross found an obstructed airway. Tami says, “During surgery, he discovered that I had a deviated septum on my right side and also a bone spur.”

A deviated septum happens when the thin wall of cartilage that runs along the inside of your nose is displaced, making one nasal passage smaller than the other. While these issues do not appear on the outside of the face, a deviated septum can block airflow, making it hard to breathe.

In these instances, rhinoplasty can apply both functional and cosmetic changes to the nose to improve how it works and what it looks like with one procedure.

Is Rhinoplasty Painful?

As a recent patient, Tami understands what it’s like to recover from a rhinoplasty in Orlando. She says, “The procedure was virtually painless. I didn’t take any pain medication. It went really well.”

Rhinoplasty generally takes more than an hour and up to three to create both cosmetic and functional improvements to the nose. The incisions are often made within the nose to reduce external scarring, which would otherwise change the appearance in undesirable ways. Alternatively, the incision can be made across the tissue between the nostrils. Both approaches heal well and limit scarring to the nose’s internal structures. 

In some cases, the nose may need to be reinforced with additional cartilage, which may be taken from other parts of the patient’s body, including tissues from the ear or rib.

A delicate touch is necessary to avoid scarring in these cases and requires an expert surgeon to transplant the tissues successfully.

Tami says, “Working with Dr. Gross for eight years and knowing him on a personal level—seeing pre- and post-op rhinoplasty patients through the years—I would never trust anyone else with my face but Dr. Gross.” 

What’s Recovery Like After Rhinoplasty?

After rhinoplasty, you may experience some mild discomfort as the tissues heal. In some cases, patients may develop bruising under the eyes, which will fade within the first two weeks but can cause mild discomfort.

Your nose will also be splinted (think of this as a cast to reinforce the structure) on the inside and outside of the nostrils for about a week after the procedure. This protects the new structure while it’s healing. 

Like most surgeries, patients should avoid strenuous activity during this period. Since the bridge of your nose will be sensitive, wearing glasses can cause discomfort for the first month.

After healing is complete, the results can be dramatic or subtle, depending on your goals. Before surgery, your doctor will provide digital imaging of what your nose will look like after the procedure—with the help of these visualizations, patients can get a good idea of what the result will be before they undergo surgery, which helps set realistic expectations.

Tami says, “Dr. Gross has digital imaging. You can see your before and after, but actually my nose turned out better than my after photos with the computer imaging.” 

Why Choose Primera and Dr. Gross for Your Orlando Rhinoplasty?

For Tami, choosing Dr. Gross and the Primera Plastic Surgery and Med Spa team was an easy decision. She was looking for the best results possible from her surgery and knew she wanted to work with a doctor who had a track record of success.

As she reviewed her options, Dr. Gross checked off all the boxes:

  • Double board-certified plastic surgeon
  • Specializing in facial plastic surgery
  • Years of experience performing rhinoplasties
  • High satisfaction among rhinoplasty patients

Is rhinoplasty right for you? Speak with the team at Primary Plastic Surgery and Med Spa to find out how rhinoplasty can help. Contact us online today or at (407) 378-1553.

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