San Diego Nose Surgery

This is technically called as 'Rhinoplasty' and is used to reshape the nose - to reduce, increase the size of the nose or change the shape of the tip, narrow the span of the nostrils, a birth defect or injury, help relieve some breathing problems or change the angle between the nose and upper lip.

The Procedure:

By using local anesthesia, the patient is slightly sedated and his/ her nose and the surrounding area will be numbed. The skin of the nose is separated from its supporting framework of bone and cartilage, which is then sculpted to the desired shape. The nature of the sculpting will depend on the problem. If the surgeon performs this treatment within the nose, the incision is made inside the nostrils. Otherwise, in the 'open' procedure, a small incision is made across columella, the vertical strip of tissue separating the nostrils.

When the surgery is complete, a splint will be applied to help the nose to maintain the new shape. Nasal packs or soft plastic splints also may be placed in the nostrils to stabilize the septum, the dividing wall between the air passages.

After surgery, the face is felt puffy, there may be nose ache and have a dull headache for sometime. But with proper medication, this can be overcome.

Also swelling and bruising around eyes may increase at first after two to three days. But by applying cold compressions will reduce these problems. This will completely come down within two weeks. A little bleeding is quite common during the first few days. Still healing is a slow and gradual process.

The minor complication that may be faced is small blood vessels that are burst may appear as tiny red spots on the skin's surface: Though these are minor, they may be permanent.