Can nose surgery improve my breathing without changing my look?

If your obstruction is due to a septal deviation or enlarged turbinates, nasal surgery (septoturbinoplasty) can certainly improve your breathing without changing your external appearance.  If weakness of your internal and/or external nasal valves exist then functional rhinoplasty can corrrect these with... more

A rhinoplasty to correct a medical problem associated with breathing is usually called a medically necessary rhinoplasty or a functional rhinoplasty. Typically if a rhinoplasty is done to correct breathing or snoring problems, the nose is visibly crooked from shifted nasal bones. So a functional rhinoplasty... more

If you have had no traumatic injuries which have changed the shape of your nose and your external nose is not deviated to one side, the answer is yes.  This means that the breathing problems are coming from deformities of structures inside your nose and these can be fixed without changing the external shape.

Functional nasal surgery -- such as a septorhinoplasty, septoplasty, spreader grafts, and turbinate reduction -- can improve breathing problems. When performed correctly, these procedures do not cause an appreciable change in the shape of the nose. Sometimes, the changes are minor. For instance, when spreader... more

Depending on the reason for your nasal airway obstruction, it is possible to improve breathing through the nose without changing the shape. Talking with your surgeon about your concerns before surgery is of paramount importance to ensure that your goals are met. In this case your goal is improving your nasal... more

You and your surgeon can decide pre-operatively exactly what will and will not be done during your procedure. Sometimes it is possible to improve your breathing by straightening your septum and reducing your turbinates without making you look different. However, in a severely deviated nose it may be necessary... more

Yes.  A septoplasty and turbinate surgery can improve breathing out of the nose without altering its appearance.  Changing the look of the nose is cosmetic in nature, and is defined as a rhinoplasty.  A septoplasty and turbinate surgery is of medical necessity and is generally covered... more

Functional rhinoplasty is a term that I use to describe a rhinoplasty performed specifically to improve nasal breathing. In many cases, this can be combined with an aesthetic rhinoplasty. In fact, every aesthetic rhinoplasty should be approached with function in mind, and every functional rhinoplasty should... more