What is the difference between minor and major rhinoplasty?

A rhinoplasty is a surgery on your face and as far as I am concerned, it is all major. However, major is relative. If your surgery is conducted by a surgeon who is an expert in nasal surgery then the chance of success is very high. In this case, you may be having a "major" surgery on your nose but with a low risk. The use of major and minor rhinoplasty may really be related to the extent of the surgery you are getting. Sometimes people just need a minor adjustment of the bone on their nose and this is often simpler for more experienced surgeons.  When complex adjustments are needed to the nasal tip, this is when the surgery becomes more complex. James P. Bonaparte, MD, MSc, FRCSCJB Cosmetics and Facial Surgery Center of OttawaHead and Neck Surgerypracticing in Facial Plastic and Reconstructive SurgeryAssistant Professor, University of OttawaOttawa, Ontario, Canada

Hi Lisa.  I am not sure if I would subdivide rhinoplasty into "major" versus "minor".  Rhinoplasty is arguably the most complex operation in all of facial plastic surgery.  The nose is the "center of the target" and is a unique combination of skin, soft tissue, cartilage and bone.  Hope this is helpful.  Good luck.

There is rhinoplasty and ........ well, rhinoplasty.Everything that is done to a nose must be analyzed in terms of what else it may do, either desirable or undesirable. Hence I would regard all rhinoplasty as "do what needs to be done". Some are longer, some are shorter. All need an absolute attention to form, function, stability. I hope this helps.