Will Rhinoplasty affect my ability as a musician?

Question

I am a 33 year old professional flutist in orchestra. I interested in having a rhinoplasty done but worried that this procedure could be detrimental to my career if any muscles/nerves near or at the lips are damaged. In order to play the flute the upper & lower lip muscles are used, and the nose sometimes moves as well. I'm also wondering after a rhinoplasty how much time would I have to wait to get back to playing the flute? Thank you all in advance for your valuable feedback and information.

Richard G. Reish, MD, FACS · Answer

Hello and thank you for your question.  The
best advice you can receive is from an in-person consultation.  I advise musicians to wait 2-3 weeks prior to playing an instrument.  Make sure you
specifically look at before and after pictures of real patients who have
had this surgery performed by your surgeon and evaluate their
results.   The most important aspect is to find a surgeon you are
comfortable with. I recommend that you seek consultation with a qualified
board-certified plastic surgeon who can evaluate you in person.
Best wishes and good luck.
Richard G. Reish, M.D.
Harvard-trained plastic surgeon

Ross A. Clevens, MD, FACS · Answer

Thank you for your question. While Rhinoplasty may affect your musical career in the short term, you will be able to resume the flute - most likely without any further complications - based on the recommendation you receive from your board certified facial plastic surgeon. Best wishes,

William Portuese, MD · Answer

A rhinoplasty procedure will not affect your ability to be a musician.  It is probably best not to be blowing any instruments for at least 3 weeks after the procedure to make sure that the nose is significantly healed at that point.

Robert L. Kraft, MD, FACS · Answer

There should be no long term interference with your ability to perform.  For at least two weeks after surgery, you should not practice at all and then you can resume.  At your professional level, you may want to consider taking a month off prior to concertizing. Best wishes.

William B. Rosenblatt, MD · Answer

Make sure you express your issues with your doctor. Usually within 2 to 3 weeks you should be fine and not have a problem with your lips. If you played the piano , you could be back at work in a few days.

Dan Hatef, MD · Answer

Hey, great question.  Being in Nashville, I have a lot of rhinoplasty patients who are musicians and vocal artists.  All of them so far have returned to their baseline voice, and a couple have said that their voice has actually improved.  I haven't worked on any flutists yet, but I would assume you're working orbicularis oris and buccinators a great deal.  Rhinoplasty doesn't specifically address those muscles, but there is a muscle in the nose that we frequently work on to alleviate tip depression during smiling; as well, I've had a couple of patients in whom I used a long cartilage graft in their tip who ended up being ecstatic with their cosmetic result, but were concerned with the stiffness of the tip and feeling like the top of their upper lip didn't move quite right.  Being in New York City, you have a lot of great rhinoplasty surgeons who I'm sure would be happy to speak with you and probably have experience doing rhinoplasty in similar patients.  Be sure to vocalize your concerns and ask questions.  Good luck!

Will Rhinoplasty affect my ability as a musician?

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