1. Are there any age restrictions for rhinoplasty?

The nose has to be fully formed for an aesthetic rhinoplasty and this usually occurs within the teenage years. In my opinion, at that young age aesthetic rhinoplasty should only be undertaken to correct a significantly gross deformity, such as a very large dorsal hump. More refined rhinoplasty should be undertaken on older patients who are mature enough to understand the risks and benefits, and possibilities of re-operation.


2. Why does it take a full year to see rhinoplasty results?

It takes a full year for most of the swelling to go down because the nose is such a delicate, complicated structure with many elements, all crammed into a very small location. There is not a significant amount of lymphatic drainage from the nose and so the swelling after surgery takes longer to resolve than it does in other parts of the body. Also, many rhinoplasties reshape the underlying structure of the nose -- the cartilage, the bone -- and these take many months to heal. The initial results of rhinoplasty can be seen within a few weeks, however.


3. Is rhinoplasty painful?

Usually not. Most patients do not require a refill on their pain medications. In my practice I use a holistic medical esthetician to apply therapies to the area before and after surgery, which helps decrease bruising and swelling, and this seems to make patients very comfortable.


4. What is nasal packing?

In some cases, the nose needs to be splinted for about a week. That is a soft "packing" that is placed within the nostrils to stop any bleeding and to hold the nasal structures together while they heal. This is generally done after people have undergone surgery to the septum, but many feel it is not necessary if surgery is focused on other parts of the nose, such as the tip or the dorsum.


5. What if you are unhappy with the results of your rhinoplasty?

It is important to communicate your feelings to your doctor and to understand that it takes many months for the final result to occur. If your objections are treatable, then a revision rhinoplasty may be an option but usually not for one year after the surgery. In some cases, a minor revision can be performed sooner than a year, but usually it is best to wait and see how the nose settles down.


6. Is it true that the nose is more runny after rhinoplasty?

This sometimes does occur: The mucosal drainage system can be altered by rhinoplasty, but this does not occur all of the time.


7. Does rhinoplasty leave scars?

It depends. An open rhinoplasty is a technique in which the skin is lifted off of the underlying structures of the nose in order to work directly on the framework of the nose. This is performed by making a small incision at the base of the nose, the columella, and is usually hidden after it heals. Other types of rhinoplasties hide the incisions completely within the nose. There is an ongoing debate within the plastic surgery literature about which technique is better: I think it depends on each individual case.