Dr Paulose

World Class ENT Plastic and Laser Surgeon

Rhinoplasty:In an ugly nose

Before taking any patient for Cosmetic surgery of Nose, the Surgeon should take into consideration the emotional and psychological health of the candidate. This is utmost important. One with an ugly nose can be made a better nose only, not a beautiful nose; this can be explained by the step ladder principle in Rhinoplasty.

Some patients come to the surgeon asking for the impossible; to get a nose job like that may look more like a movie star or television star. The expectations of this category of Rhinoplasty candidates really need to be evaluated and addressed before surgery is scheduled to ensure that they don’t have unrealistic expectations of what the surgeon will be able to do, and to ensure that the candidate is psychologically stable enough to handle the surgery and their subsequent transformation. Otherwise emotional and psychological problems surface after the surgery and they will be a constant headache for the surgeon.

Age of the patient is also important; don\’t operate under the age of fourteen or fifteen for girls, or fifteen or sixteen for boys. This is because adolescents go through their final growth spurt around these ages and the size and shape of the person’s nose is still changing before the completion of this growth spurt.

Some patients expect the nose be perfect as soon as the sutures are removed after a week. They must be educated before surgery about the healing process. The amount of time it takes for you to completely heal from Rhinoplasty will depend on a number of factors. For major reconstructive surgeries, several months may be needed before the person sees the final result or results of the surgery, while a simple refinement may only take 4-6 weeks before the final results are visible.

Post operative period is difficult for any patient. Any major transformation in their facial appearance have to be accepted and it should transform their self image and self-esteem.

Having said all that, while Rhinoplasty may not solve all emotional issues that a person who has lived with a deformity has, it will help to give them the opportunity to experience a better life by reducing or eliminating the physical deformities that had previous been the source of their emotional and psychological problems.