You more or less like your own nose. It reminds you of your mom’s. Or grandad’s. Plus, it seems to fit your face pretty well.
You’re afraid that if you change your nose too much, you won’t even look like yourself anymore. But you’d still like to make a few minor improvements, and you’re not sure that such subtle changes are worth the intensive surgical procedure and lengthy recovery you must endure to get them.
Preservation rhinoplasty is a new type of rhinoplasty that lets you make more subtle changes to your nose’s shape and function. It requires far less nasal tissue disruption and downtime.
At Best Impression Medical Spa and Laser Center in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, our expert plastic surgeons, Dr. Vivian Hsu and Dr. Robert Mirabile, offer preservation rhinoplasty as well as conventional rhinoplasty.
Are you looking to make subtle changes to your nose? Here’s how preservation rhinoplasty differs from a conventional nose job.
A traditional cosmetic nose reshaping — or a nose job — is among the most requested cosmetic facial plastic surgeries in the United States. Each year, about 47,000 Americans choose rhinoplasty to refine the appearance of their nose, improve its function, or both.
Usually, we perform rhinoplasty while you’re under general anesthesia, which means you’re asleep. The operation begins as we make one small incision along the base on your nose. This doesn’t leave a perceptible scar after your skin heals.
This one exterior incision is connected to a series of hidden interior incisions. That way, we can access your nasal bone and cartilage. Depending on your goals, we may:
After we shape the internal structures of your nose to your desired goal, we gently re-drape the nasal skin and close the incisions.
Recovery includes a few weeks of initial swelling, followed by intermittent swelling and contraction for up to a year after your rhinoplasty. Swelling in the tip of the nose usually takes the longest to resolve.
While conventional rhinoplasty reshapes your nose by removing and restructuring your nasal bone and cartilage, preservation rhinoplasty achieves subtler changes by carefully repositioning your nasal structures. This conservative method removes as little bone and cartilage as feasible.
You maintain much of your nose’s original anatomy while we subtly refine its shape. Preservation rhinoplasty can offer:
When we do preservation rhinoplasty, we use specialized “push down” and “let down” techniques. These can reduce the height of the dorsal bridge from below and smooth out a prominent bump.
But the process leaves the dorsal line contours along each side of your nose as they are. That helps the end result look more natural.
We can refine the tip of your nose less invasively than with conventional rhinoplasty. Instead of removing cartilage, we simply reshape existing cartilage and reposition it with stitches.
We can also correct a deviated septum and a crooked nasal bridge to make your nose more functional to help you breathe better. We simply modify these structures with less invasive techniques.
Preservation rhinoplasty keeps most of your existing nasal structure while improving its overall aesthetic appeal. It gives you a natural-looking, subtly refined nose that suits your face. It also:
You’re much less likely to need a revision rhinoplasty because the changes are subtle and work with — instead of against — your natural nasal structure.
Conventional rhinoplasty helps you achieve more balanced facial aesthetics through proportional nose reshaping. When done by our experienced board-certified plastic surgeons, this procedure delivers natural-looking results.
And in some cases, standard rhinoplasty may match your goals better than preservation rhinoplasty. For instance, if you have a significant hump on the bridge of your nose or if your nose requires extensive reshaping.
But if you want subtle improvements that don’t drastically alter your nose’s shape or size, preservation rhinoplasty may be the better choice.
Do you have questions about preservation rhinoplasty? Call us or use our online form to schedule a rhinoplasty consultation today.
