How soon can I get revision after an open rhinoplasty?

The answer for this is of course: it depends.  If the nose needs intervention sooner rather than later, then the rules about waiting 1 year do not apply.  However, I have found that waiting for the one year mark is best when the patient can accommodate the fact that they are not happy with their result.

Dear Jaygirl,

In general, the nasal tip takes many, many months to resolve and enhancement surgery should be considered any time after 12 months. The bridge itself can usually be manipulated sooner than 12 months, either further reduction dorsal rhinoplasty or I have found that, while waiting for the nasal tip to improve, injection rhinoplasty, or five-minute nose jobs can provide a nice, stable improvement to the while waiting for the tip and performing open revision rhinoplasty on both after one year.

Having trained in both plastic surgery and E/N/T-head/neck oncology and facial trauma, I have had over 20 years of cosmetic rhinoplasty experience, as well as injection five-minute nose job treatments.

I hope this information has been of some assistance. For more information, please review the link below.

Sincerely,
R. Stephen Mulholland, M.D.
Certified Plastic Surgeon
Yorkville, Toronto
[1.16 minutes]

Dear Jaygirl;

I understand that you are not happy with the nose five months after surgery. But the fact is, whether or not the tip and other parts they operated on, any type of work on the nose should be deferred until nine months because it is too difficult to operate when the tissue is still thick, healing, and temporarily tightly affixed.

It does take time to heal, plus the tip of the nose takes more time than any part. So I would advise you to be patient.It's best to wait and see because, in fact, the nose may improve in the next four months, and you may be less enthusiastic about having a revision.

It is very important for you to have consultation. If you do arrange one, be sure take all the records and photos from the original surgery.

But first, please take some time to do some cosmetic surgery homework.

Finding a good cosmetic plastic surgeon starts with a computer search of surgeons in your (or distant) areas. Best results come from super-specialists (a medical, not an advertising term) who do the procedure you want at least weekly and have done it for at least a decade.

Once you narrow in on the website of a surgeon who looks good to you, focus on the before and after pictures, looking for patients who have had the procedure you want. There should be dozens and dozens of such photos.

Many good, plain language cosmetic plastic surgery books are on Amazon.com or Barnes&Noble.com.
As you read, write down questions that can be asked later in consultation with a surgeon. Many books about cosmetic plastic surgery are designed to help with all the nuts and bolts of cosmetic surgery consultations and provide questions about both the before and after surgery experiences.

The person you want performing your surgery would be a cosmetic surgeon super-specialist. Here's what that means:

In modern medicine, knowledge about a particular specialty doubles every 18 months. No surgeon can master all the 135-plus plastic surgery procedures. In cosmetic facial surgery (a subdivision of plastic surgery) a menu of just a half-dozen procedures is considered proper. Such a narrow practice is the manner of the cosmetic surgery super-specialist, where the surgeon’s practice is more of a boutique than a department store. Such cosmetic facial surgeons have generally served an additional training period -- beyond board certification -- known as fellowship training. That surgeon, once he or she became a specialist, has worked at the side of one or more Master Surgeons for a year, studying and performing only several procedures.

Fellowship is the highest caliber credential available. Look for those who are fellowship-trained and board certified.

One more item will serve you well: Computer Imaging. Here’s how it works: photos are taken of you as you are and uploaded onto a special computer system that can morph your present appearance into an anticipated after picture. (The technology is also known as Computer Morphing.).

Such imaging is an incomparable learning tool because it provides a forum for doctor-patient agreement on the after-surgery result that would satisfy you and is a result the doctor can deliver. After all, cosmetic surgery is 100% visual. It's about appearance, but without visuals, everything is left to the imagination.

To anticipate a successful outcome, there must be a meeting of the minds between surgeon and patient. Why waste your time on a consultation in which the surgeon can’t demonstrate what he envisions as the outcome? Would you buy a painting without seeing it?

In my opinion, a consultation without computer imaging is nearly worthless.

Best wishes,


Robert Kotler, MD, FACS

It's important that you schedule a consultation with a board certified plastic surgeon to fully address all of your needs when it comes to a revision rhinoplasty. Typically patients should wait a full year after their rhinoplasty before considering revision rhinoplasty.  I hope my video helps you understand more what is involved with a revision rhinoplasty.