Rhinoplasty, the elective plastic surgery reshapes the internal and/or external structure of the nose to regularize its appearance or improve its function. Your plastic surgeon in Atlanta, GA, offers this long-respected procedure to healthy adults who are non-smokers and have realistic treatment goals.
Here’s more about what happens during rhinoplasty.
Getting Rhinoplasty in Atlanta, GA
Rhinoplasty or “nose job” is typically performed by a board-certified and fellowship-trained plastic surgeon on an outpatient basis. After medical clearance, imaging, and establishing the treatment goals, your surgeon will inform you about anesthesia. Most patients undergo rhinoplasty with IV sedation and a local anesthetic. However, others, depending on the specific surgery, require general anesthesia and a limited hospital stay.
People undergo rhinoplasty for various reasons, including:
- Correction of defects in functionality, such as breathing issues or repeat infections
- Reshaping of nasal cartilage which is too large or crooked
- Reduction in the size and shape of one or both nostrils
Some of these defects or problems are congenital, i.e., people are born with them due to heredity or birth complications. Other issues are acquired from diseases, such as skin cancer, or trauma.
Thankfully, your rhinoplasty surgeon in Atlanta, GA, uses comprehensive methods to reach the desired end. He may use cartilage harvested from the nose, or even from other body areas, such as the rib cage. If the patient has a nasal fracture, the doctor may simply set the septum or splint it as needed.
What Happens During Rhinoplasty
After you are anesthetized, the surgeon will determine and mark the areas where he will make the incisions. Usually, these are inside the nostrils (this is called a closed procedure) or on the columella, the skin between the nostrils.
Depending on the desired therapeutic outcomes of your nose surgery, the plastic surgeon in Atlanta, GA, will create small incisions and reshape the septum (dividing cartilage), nose tip, nostril size, and symmetry as needed.
These surgeries take two to three hours, and the surgeon installs nasal packing and splints to stabilize the structure of the nose. Incisions are sutured closed.
Most patients experience a headache, site pain, swelling, and bruising, which gradually resolve over the subsequent days to weeks. Return to work, school, and other tasks of daily living are individualized; so, your surgical support team and physician will detail your post-op instructions for home and gradually increase your activity level.
Final therapeutic and aesthetic results optimize in about a year. Complications, such as bleeding, difficulty breathing, or infection, are rare with this procedure. However, patients are encouraged to contact their doctor right away with any questions or concerns they have as they recuperate at home.
Expert Rhinoplasty in Atlanta, GA
Dr. Gregory Mackay is a board-certified and fellowship-trained plastic surgeon. His philosophy of practice centers on the best possible aesthetic and functional outcomes for every treatment and surgery he performs. He carefully plans treatments and educates his patients on every aspect of their procedures, including recovery and long-term health goals.
For a consultation about rhinoplasty or other medical aesthetic treatment, please call us at (404) 777-9791, or request your personalized appointment online by filling in our confidential form.
