Rhinoplasty’s Most Common Questions

Most patients ask common questions. The first is usually, “Will my nose be broken?”

Well, yes and no.

It’s not so much a brutal breaking or fracturing of bones as it is a controlled repositioning of the nasal bones. About 90 percent of nose job patients undergo a repositioning of the nasal bones.

How Every Rhinoplasty Patient Sees Her Own Nose

At least 90 percent of patients ask what can be done about a hump on the nose. The old way was using  a hammer and chisel during surgery to remove some cartilage and bone in one piece. But a better way, known to physicians as the component technique, prevents a common undesirable side effect in rhinoplasty.

Think of the nasal bones from a point between the eyes to the tip of the nose as a covered bridge. If a surgeon just removes the hump with a hammer and chisel, he or she may create more problems in the three-dimensional structure of the nose. The effect would be the covered bridge losing the peak of its roof line.

Working under the skin of course, the component technique separates – not cuts – that length of nose cartilage and bone and gently folds one side over the other so that the patient still has a nose that is like a covered bridge. But the bridge now has a straighter roof line, with no hump.

Other common questions to plastic surgeons from potential rhinoplasty patients include:

I can’t breathe through my nose!

Actually, part of the rhinoplasty surgeon’s mandate is creating an attractive nose that fits the rest of the face and is functional so you can breathe well through it.

Must I stay in the hospital and be put to sleep?

Rhinoplasty is usually done on an outpatient basis, most often in a certified surgical center with a board-certified anesthesiologist. Rhinoplasty is very, very exacting with tolerances measured in millimeters. So it’s best for the results if the patient lies still like a statute under general anesthesia.

How much time is lost from the job?

You should take a week off work. Some bruising is usually still visible by day 10 but can be covered by camouflage makeup. You should be presentable in about two weeks.

Will insurance pay for it?

For breathing woes, most insurance companies will cover the functional part. But they may not cover the cosmetic aspect.