Nose Reshaping or Rhinoplasty

Nose reshaping is a more common procedure than you might think. Both men and women are unhappy about particular aspects of their nose and request some changes to be made to it.

You are a good candidate for nose reshaping surgery if

You have very specific aspects of your nose that you would like to be changed e.g. a bump on your nose, over projection, wide nostrils, broad and wide tip
You have realistic expectations
You are not a good candidate for nose re-shaping surgery if

You are very non-specific about the changes you want on your nose e.g. “Doctor, can you make my nose look pretty?” or “Can I have the nose just like XX?”
You have very unrealistic and non ethnic expectations
Unlike in the past you can have a non surgical correction of your nose. Too good to be true isn’t it? Here how it done.

Non Surgical Reshaping of your nose

Many of us have a minor hump over the nose or feel that the nose is too short or projects just a little too less or too much. In the past, these minor corrections needed surgery. You can have these corrected by having a filler along the nasal bridge or on the tip or in the area where the nose starts between the eyebrows.

I will first evaluate you and see whether your blemish can be corrected non surgically. If you have minor hump it can be smoothened by injecting filler. Similarly, if your nose is too short or projects too much I can inject some filler just the origin of the nose just between the eyebrows.

There are two types of fillers that can be used. First is Radiesse, which a FDA approved filler that lasts for one year to a year and a half. The second is called Artefill which lasts over 5-10 years. I will inject a small amount of local anesthetic and then inject the filler and Walla your nose will look perfect immediately.

No downtime, no anesthesia, no hospital and no bleeding. Just some minimal swelling. I like it so much I had Radiesse injected in my nasal area too.

Plan for Your Surgery

During your initial consultation I will specifically ask you what you dislike about your nose and whether you have any difficulty in breathing or a history of previous injury. I will also take note of your ethnic origin, and determine what aspects of your nose could benefit by correction. It is very difficult for me and for you to know what you are seeking as a perfect nose for yourself. To overcome this problem I have special software that allows me to take your photograph and change various aspects of your nose. As I make the corrections on the computer monitor you will have an idea how each aspect of the procedure will change the final appearance of your nose. You will then be able to compare your current shape of the nose with the new nose and that will help each one of us to set realistic expectations. Planning is extremely important for this surgery and this is where artistry and precision combined with experience counts a lot. So choose your surgeon wisely.

Where Your Surgery Will Be Performed

The procedure will be performed in an outpatient surgery center.

Anesthesia For Nose Reshaping

The procedure will be performed in an outpatient surgery center.

The Surgery

The most common approach is to make a small incision on your columella and then continue with this incision inside you nostrils. This incision allows me to examine your tip and the bridge your nose. I commonly expose your septum so I can take some cartilage grafts and then smoothen your nasal bridge. All this is sometimes combined with work on the nasal bones to realign them and finally work on you nasal tip to further refine it. Most commonly the tip cartilage need to be reshaped and then tip can be made longer or shorter based on your nasal and facial profile. Some Afro-American noses need to have their nostrils to be narrowed to reduce their flare.

The procedure commonly takes 2.5 to 3 hours to perform depending on the complexity of work to be done during the surgery.

After the surgery a splint is placed over the nose to hold the nasal bones in correct alignment. I do not pack the nose as it very uncomfortable for the patient to breathe through it. The splint stays for 7-10 days.

How does Dr. Rane differ from other surgeons?

Nose reshaping is a not only a very technically skilled procedure it requires artistry and ability to bring about a change in the shape of the nose as you may desire it to be. Dr. Rane  has not only performed hundreds of rhinoplasties for cosmetic reasons but has done much larger number of children and adults who have complex birth defects like cleft lip and head and neck abnormalities. Most of these patients have tissue missing at birth and therefore require a very complex and technologically challenging procedure. Dr. Rane  also has attend multiple courses hear the world’s best surgeons and keep up with the latest and the best in this field. Dr. Rane also has unique software that allows him to modify the shape prior to the surgery so that you can see how nose may look prior to actual surgery being performed on you. All these methods significantly reduce the need for any revisional surgery.

Risk of the Surgery

Following the surgery there is swelling over the nose that may last for 7-10 days. There may be some bruising around the eyes too. This will disappear in two weeks. Some swelling may persist for six weeks to three months and you may not know how your nose finally looks until the end of three months. So please be patient. Sometimes there is some irregularity of the bridge of the nose. Most of these bumps settle very quickly. Rarely the nose may deviate to one side and you most certainly have some deterioration in the breathing temporarily as the swelling on the inside of you nose settles. Rarely you may require some revision surgery of the nose to correct minor abnormalities.

Getting Back to Normal

Healing progresses slowly and your patience will be essential. There will some firmness at the site of surgery and you nose may feel numb for a few months as healing progresses. The incision under your nose will show as a red line for around two to three months and in the vast majority of the cases the incision is barely visible after six months.

Your New Look

Once the swelling subsides you will notice the difference in the shape of your nose. With every passing week you will continue to see the change until three to six months after surgery. You will look in the mirror and say “I am glad I did it”.