Simulated Nose Versus Real Nose?

Pre-operative rhinoplasty imaging, especially 3D imaging, is a valuable tool for both the patient and the doctor. For the patient, imaging can help patients understand the effect that changing the nose has on the overall appearance. For the surgeon, imaging is an important part of the preoperative analysis and planning.

Patients and their surgeon should agree upon the goals for surgery, and imaging can help ensure that those goals and expectations are mutually understood. While imaging is useful technology, it is important to remember that it is just a simulation of a proposed result.

I personally do not use computer simulation when consulting with a potential patient. I find it more helpful to show them before and after photos of cases that are similar to theirs.  Making a nose look good on a computer is easy. Actually achieving that same result is not.  Select your rhinoplasty surgeons based on the quality of their work on previous patients.  Make sure you see many examples and that you like the quality of work you see.

Computer imaging is a tool to HELP the patient understand the "possible" outcomes of the surgery. It is NOT the way you will look! Just a limited future view. Computers do not heal or preform any biologic action. Healing is 3 dimensional, while computers give you an image they can not predict the degree, amounts, effects of healing. Best to see before and afters of other patients the see if the surgeon can offer you an acceptable non computer generated result.