Is Gore-Tex implant removal usually performed under local or general anesthesia?

Removing a dorsal nasal implant may be uncomfortable with simply local anesthetic. This may be considered with either an open or a closed approach, depending on the expertise and familiarity of your surgeon. That said, we have not removed gortex from anybody sooner than one year after surgery. In fact, we have never performed any type of revision rhinoplasty surgery sooner than 6 months post-operative. I understand that there would be less tissue ingrowth the sooner it is removed, however, we get concerned about residual swelling when operating on a nose sooner than 6 months after previous rhinoplasty. I hope this is helpful and I wish you well. Sincerely, Dr Joseph

It will really depend on the surgeon. I believe I could do it under local anesthesia. It is an implant on the bridge? If so it should come out easily

General anesthesia isn't required, but having it done without any sedation at all would be awful -- you wouldn't do it on me! Then, the approach depends on a number of factors. If the implant can be removed in a limited closed operation, great, especially since it's only been 4 months since placement, and the scar tissue from the first operation hasn't had time to soften completely. We would consider an open procedure if the implant is tied into the tip cartilages, or if the graft is very large and removing it would create some other problems that could be prevented by some technique approached through an open incision, or if for whatever reason it was just too hard to remove the implant from a closed approach.