If Dr Does Something During Operation, Not Discussed Pre Op?

I had a nose job to fix the tip. My bridge was fairly straight, just a very small bump on one side. My surgeon said he would file down the bump. However, when I woke up after the surgery, he said he broke my nose to fix it. The result is I now have a wonky bridge. It curves inwards on one side, but straight down one side, creating an unbalanced appearance. I have another meeting with the surgeon in a few days. What should I expect? Is he obligated to fix this problem as not discussed beforehand?

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7 Doctor Answers | Asked by sara41

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Doing the correct thing in surgery (even if not specifically described pre-operatively) is not going to get you a "free" re-do!

If you had an unexpected blood vessel rupture and bleed during surgery, would you expect your surgeon to "let it go" since it was not explained to you pre-operatively, even if it took a longer incision or second scar to stop the bleeding and save your life? Come on, you know the answer, and trying to have your dissatisfaction with your result be somehow "tied" to unmentioned osteotomies as a way of "obliging" your surgeon to perform a "free" re-operation is wrong. Osteotomies are a... more

Rhinoplasty

Dear Sara411, Surgeons don't explain every step of a surgical procedure. Instead, they describe what they will address and briefly explain how they may accomplish that. They can't explain every nuance or detail. Remember, your surgeon spent many years learning to be a surgeon - they can't provide you with all of that knowledge. With a dorsal hump reduction, if more than 2mm of rasping is required, a nasal bone in-fracture is recommended to prevent an open-roof... more

Rhinoplasty Bump Filing and Osteotomies

A dorsal hump that is filed sometimes needs oseotomies to reduce apparent width. I am sure that the surgeon will revise the surgery after about 12 months if it needs a revision. I would agree with everything Dr. Tholen wrote.

Rhinoplasty plan sometimes has to be modified during surgery.

Hi. There are three separate issues here: 1) If, during surgery, it looked to your surgeon that infractures would give you a better result, then of course he did that, whether he explicitly told you about it before surgery or not. 2) You are not happy with outcome. This may not be related to the infractures. 3) What is your surgeon's policy about doing revisions? This is what you need to discuss with your surgeon. But don't blame... more

Rhinoplasty

Often when doing a rhinoplasty if the dorsum is shaved, it is appropriately infractured to recreate the natural bony pyramid shape. Best to discuss things with your surgeon.

Steven Wallach, MD

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Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Rhinoplasty Choices

I would like to thank Dr. Tholen for a very eloquent and informative answer. Although I cannot comment on the appearance of your nose without pictures I can give you some insight into why your nasal bones were broken during the procedure. When a larger dorsal hump is removed, a convex surface (the dorsum) transforms into a wider flat surface. In order to avoid what we call a "book spine" deformity, osteotomies are used to fracture the nasal bone and narrow the dorsum. ... more

Unantisipated Fracture

Surgeons sometimes have to change a Plan of Surgery based upon what they find at the time of a procedure. It can be difficult to cover all the bases but, the major ones are usually included in the consent forms you sign prior to surgery. A good example is a Tummy Tuck patient that is discovered to have a hernia at the time of the procedure. Almost all surgeons are going to repair the hernia at the time of the Tummy Tuck and proceed. Consider asking your surgeon why they broke... more