New Advances In Rhinoplasty

Nose is the most prominent point of the face and also most important part of the facial beauty. Aesthetic nose operations (rhinoplasty or nasoplasty) are the most frequently performed procedures in today’s aesthetics.

In the beginning nose aesthetics were dealing with large and long noses. The purpose of the operation was to reduce the nose to a smaller size. Of course badly damaged and severely deviated noses were also treated but the main reason for these treatments was breathing difficulty. In this era aesthetic nose operation was a reduction operation. Most of the bony and cartilage scaffold of the nose were being removed or displaced. Especially reducing and replacing nasal bones would cause pain and severe bruising. Putting tampons into the nose was routine and they were stay at least 3 days.

In today’s population the main reason for nose aesthetics is to be seen more attractive. Beauty is a subjective thing and a beautiful nose does not mean a small nose. Today’s nose aesthetics deal with reshaping the nose, not reducing it. Decades of experience has thought us that cartilage and bony parts of the nose are designed to provide comfortable breathing and optimal shape. If these structures were destroyed and mechanical support of the nose were lost eventually unwanted consequences would appear sooner or later.

It took a long time for plastic surgeons to realize that beautiful noses have the same amount of bone and cartilage with ugly noses. Most of the time the difference is not the amount of bone and cartilage but the placement and shape of the bone and cartilage. It is possible to create beautiful noses without removing cartilage and bone but only reshaping and repositioning them. Today we are removing (if necessary) less bone and cartilage and not damaging the lining (mucosa) of the nose. We minimally traumatize the nose. Exploring only the parts that we will change. As a result there is absolutely no pain after the nose aesthetics. Almost always we keep nose open after the operation so patients keep normal nasal breathing. Bruising around the eyes is minimal and usually disappears in one week. Most patients go back to daily life and social activities no more then two weeks.

There is a new fashion which named “knifeless aesthetics”. This fashion also effected the nose aesthetics. Some doctors are using botulinum toxin to change the tip of the nose and some others are using suspension suture to elevate the tip. The longevity and efficacy of these procedures are not justified yet. But it is obvious that today’s nose aesthetics are easier, more comfortable and more function friendly then before.