patient guide

Rhinoplasty is performed under general anaesthesia and may take from two hours to three or more for complex revision cases. The typical time for primary surgery is two hours. For many patients day surgery is appropriate but sometimes a single night stay in hospital is advisable. If you smoke you should stop at least one month prior to surgery as smoking increases your risk of complications. During surgery the nose is injected with long-acting local anaesthetic to reduce bleeding and to provide post-operative pain relief. The nose will be numb when you wake up.

Incisions are made within the inside of the nose and across the columella – the piece of skin between the nostrils. This is known as “open” Rhinoplasty and allows the greatest degree of control over the shape of the nose.  Small two-millimetre incisions are placed on either side of the nose to allow the bones to be mobilised. These small incisions and the columella incision become near invisible over time.

Reducing a large nose involves removal of cartilage and bone from the bridge. The cartilage of the tip may be reduced in size or reshaped to refine a broad or bulbous tip. If there are breathing problems surgery will be performed within the nose to correct the airway. A crooked nose will require manoeuvres to straighten both the bony and cartilaginous skeleton. At the end of the procedure it is sometimes appropriate to reduce large nostrils by removing a wedge of tissue at the nostril base. A small nose may require augmentation with either grafts or an implant.