Is combining a rhinoplasty, facial fat grafting, and upper lid blepharoplasty an option or should I consider different sessions?

Question

I am planning on doing rhinoplasty, full face fat grafting and upper lid blepharoplasty at the same time. Can it be safely performed together or should I skip the blepharoplasty? I hope it's not too much stress for my body. How many hours would all these procedures take in your experience ? Is 3 weeks enough time to look normal after combined procedures like these ?

Ronald J. Edelson, MD · Answer

Rhinoplasty and upper lid blepharoplasty are a common combination and easily done together. You could also have fat grafting but I think facial fat grafting is such a waste of time and money.  At best the fat will absorb over time. At worst you’ll have lumps all over your face. Not a fan

Ahmet Alp, MD · Answer

You can do it no problem. We do these types of combined surgeries. However, you must first get approval from your doctor.

Timothy Ortlip, MD · Answer

Thanks for your question. All of these procedures can be performed at the same time. The rhinoplasty probably being the most time intensive in terms of surgical time and recovery. Your personal recovery experience will largely depend on your age and health status. In my hands these procedures combined would take anywhere between 4-6 hours depending on what exactly needs to be done. In general three weeks should be enough time to look relatively normal for social appearances. You may need to use some concealer/make up in certain areas. Yes there will still be swelling that you and your surgeon will notice, but to anyone else, they should not notice anything obvious..

William J. Hedden, MD · Answer

We commonly do those together and the downtime is very minimal. You just want to make sure your doctor has significant experience with those procedures. In our office we perform those procedures almost every day. Most patients would be recovered enough to go back to work from the eyes and fat transfer within days. Currently something like that would run about 11,000$ at our facility. Best wishes.

Zoran Potparic, MD · Answer

Providing that your surgeon is familiar and performs frequently each of these individual procedures, there is no reason why they should not be done in the same time. It is one anesthesia, one recovery time, swelling, discomfort, etc. The lenght of surgery will depend of individual problem as well as surgeon's efficacy, and it should be discussed with your surgeon. Three weeks of recovery should be enough. Good luck.

Paul E. Chasan, MD, FACS · Answer

Thank you for your question.  I routinely perform all these procedures in one session and often, also perform facelifting as well.  I have been doing this for over 28 years and have had very few problems.  Although it might seem that there may be stress on the body or a long procedure, the reality is people routinely do well with this type of surgery.  There are many facial plastic surgeons that only do their surgeries under local anesthesia, and this would be a very long day.  In our operative facility, we use board-certified anesthesiologists and routinely keep people overnight.  Best wishes to you.

Daniel Barrett, MD · Answer

Dear cantstopwontstop,
I understand your concern. It is best however that you consult with a board certified plastic surgeon to determine whether you can have several aesthetic surgeries in one session, as this would depend on various factors including but not limited to your general health condition, the type of anesthesia that will be used, and the type of surgeries that will be performed among others.
Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Barry M. Weintraub, MD, FACS · Answer

The answers to your questions depend on the specifics of you and your surgeon. Not knowing these details, I can share my own experience as a board certified plastic surgeon in an effort to help you:  I routinely perform these procedures in conjunction with each other, and the length of time depends on what precisely needs to be accomplished. Remember, surgery is not a horserace, and being meticulous and not rushing is paramount to safety and a good result. I do not consider an operation to be over until I am completely satisfied. If you are in good health, the recovery is not too physically stressful, and three weeks is enough time to recover. Many patients also enjoy the financial benefits of doing several surgeries at once, since only one operating-room and anesthesia fee apply.

William Portuese, MD · Answer

In our practice, we frequently perform rhinoplasty and blepharoplasty in combination. We usually don't recommend facial fat grafting unless there is a very unusual circumstance. Please consider posting a full set of facial photographs from all angles to make a determination about being a candidate for these procedures. Digital computer imaging of your nose upon your facial features would also be helpful in the communication process. Rhinoplasty is the most difficult operation to perform correctly in the entire field of cosmetic surgery, so start by finding a rhinoplasty specialist. Study your prospective surgeon's before and after rhinoplasty and blepharoplasty photo Gallery to make sure that Gallery is extensive with results that you like.

David M. Kowalczyk, MD, MBA, FACS · Answer

Good Morning! Great questions. You're exactly right with thinking about the stress on your body. Depending on the rhinoplasty technique, there can be quite a lot of swelling which extends to the sides of the nose and near the eyes. Performing a blepharoplasty is relatively straightforward, but there is swelling at the eyes from that alone. Full fat transfer, depending on the area, could be done. The total time varies with the rhinoplasty approach being the greatest variable. I would suspect at least 4 hours to do all of it. At 3 weeks, a large part of the bruising would be gone and swelling improving, though not complete. If you have any doubts, space the procedures apart to lessen the likelihood of an untoward outcome. Hope that is useful!

Is combining a rhinoplasty, facial fat grafting, and upper lid blepharoplasty an option or should I consider different sessions?

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