Perhaps no other plastic surgery procedure is more difficult than rhinoplasty. Essentially, the underlying cartilage and bone is sculpted and sutured to create the framework for a more aesthetic appearance.
Unsatisfactory results after rhinoplasty can be due to several causes, some avoidable and others more difficult to predict due to patient healing. To me there are a few keys to achieving consistent success.
1. Good communication between patient and surgeon so that the goals of surgery are well established. Besides speaking with and listening to the patient, here is where computer imaging is invaluable.
2. Proceeding appropriately conservatively. This means identifying those features of the nose with which the patient is happy, and identifying and working on those that contribute to an unaesthetic appearance and therefore typically draw undesired attention. The goal is to keep all the features of the nose in proportion to the rest of the face.
3. Maintaining and reinforcing cartilage support, trying to reinforce and work with existing cartilage and bone rather than weakening and excising it.
Once patients have had a procedure, an experienced surgeon can also dramatically improve appearances by more than ever concentrating and repairing those features which are of concern to the patient and which take away from the harmony of the nose to the rest of the face.
