1. Are there any age restrictions for undergoing rhinoplasty?

There are no true age restrictions for rhinoplasty patients. However, the nose does need to have undergone the majority of its pubertal development and in most patients this will be age 16 or older.


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

It takes a full year to see full rhinoplasty results because the nose retains swelling longer than almost any other body part. So while big changes will be noticeable immediately following the procedure, the final subtle changes may take up to a year.


3. Is rhinoplasty very painful?

Rhinoplasty is not a very painful operation and the nose more often feels numb after surgery than feeling painful.


4. What is nasal packing?

Nasal packing can be used to control bleeding after a rhinoplasty. I prefer never to use nasal packing as it is very uncomfortable for patients. Patients may need small internal splints, which are small plastic tubes for 5-days after surgery if they have had work done on their septum to improve breathing and they come out at the first postoperative visit.


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

Some patients are unhappy with the results of the rhinoplasty and often times the rhinoplasty can be re-done or touch-up operations can be performed.


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

There are no functional changes within the nose after rhinoplasty so allergy symptoms will not be worse and the nose is not more runny after surgery, as is commonly perceived.


7. Does rhinoplasty leave scars?

There are 2 techniques for rhinoplasty, open and closed. An open technique leaves a very small non-noticeable scar on the skin underneath the nose dividing the 2 nasal passages. This incision generally disappears within 6-weeks of surgery and is imperceptible even to a trained eye. Rhinoplasty in general is designed to re-shape the nose and re-contour the nose and common indications are a hump on the nose, a wide nose, a nose that is too big or has a boxy or square tip or a nose that is under or over rotated and out of proportion with the face.