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Goal: produce an attractive and functional nose which looks natural and
timeless
Your nose…the most important central feature of the face, affects
the overall balance, harmony, and aesthetic appeal of your face. Is
it too large, too small, too flat, and/or too pointed? Do you have
trouble breathing from one or both sides of your nose? According to
Dr. Donn Chatham, an aesthetically pleasing nose is one that
fits your face with harmony, and is in the correct proportions.
Cosmetic nose surgery, also known as
rhinoplasty, has become one of the most sought after
plastic surgical procedures in the United States. Cosmetic
surgery can change the shape of the whole nose or just a small part,
making it fit more harmoniously with the rest of your face. Dr.
Chatham is highly skilled in making these changes while preserving
and enhancing the function of the nose so that breathing is free and
comfortable.
There are structures within the nose, namely the septum and
turbinates, which affect the airflow through the nose.
Dr. Chatham will carefully examine the internal structure of
your nose at the time of your consultation and provide information
about possible improvement. Also during your initial consultation,
he will first listen to your desires and goals. During the
examination, he will make suggestions for nose improvement based on
his assessment, your facial features and your desires, bringing
extensive surgical experience and artistic sensitivity into the
discussion so that together a final surgical plan will be adopted to
achieve optimum results for your rhinoplasty.
While Dr. Chatham will evaluate your entire facial structure, with
emphasis towards improving not only the nose, but its relationship
to other parts of the face. The goal is to blend your nose
aesthetically, thereby providing balance and harmony to your facial
features. Patients from certain cultures wish to have cosmetic nasal
surgery yet retain their ethnicity. These cultures have certain
noses which patients may desire to retain. Dr. Chatham will discuss
with you openly and will make every effort to retain the ethnic
features that you desire.
Sometimes nasal breathing is adequate and it is important to
preserve this. Sometimes there is a slight airway problem that can
be improved with a simple additional maneuver, while sometimes a
severe airway problems requires a more complicated approach.
If a nose has already been operated on, the “revision” nasal surgery
typically is more difficult, depending on several factors. The goal,
of course, is fewer rather than more surgeries.
Most men and women want to look their best. Schedule your initial
consultation today and let Dr. Chatham show you how nose contouring
can benefit your overall facial appearance.
THE SURGERY
Cosmetic surgery of the nose usually takes 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 hours and
may be done either with you asleep under general anesthesia or awake
under sedation. Most incisions are placed inside the nostrils, but
in some cases, a small incision may be made in the natural creases
along the sides or near the base of the nose. These heal quickly and
leave scars that usually are difficult to find later. At the end of
surgery, a dressing will be place on your nose. If bleeding occurs,
a light dressing may be placed inside the nostrils and removed
either the same or the next day. Typically we do not find it
necessary to “pack” the nose…this is usually the most memorable
issue according to many nasal surgery patients who had their nose
packed. Sutures typically dissolve by them selves. The external
splint dressing usually is removed at one week.
The evening of surgery one will experience some soreness, and some
patients feel discomfort. But medicines (I.V. if still in the
hospital or facility) and by mouth generally control this. After a
few days, many of our patients report that Tylenol is sufficient.
Note that all surgeries have pros and cons, risks and benefits, and
Dr Chatham will fully explain these to each patient prior to
surgery, so there is full understanding of what procedure entails.
THE RECOVERY
Most people are pleasantly surprised at how little true pain there
is after nasal surgery. But thresholds for discomfort vary a lot.
The most uncomfortable part of the recovery is the inability to
breathe through the nose for several days due to swelling, which
usually improves within one to two weeks. Expect some swelling and
possibly bruising around your eyes for a week or so, and as this
swelling subsides, you will start to see the improvements from your
surgery.
At one week the nose looks similar to that of a nose with a bad
“cold”. At 2 weeks, it mimics having allergies. After that, swelling
subsides, and one looks socially acceptable by about 10 days
normally. Some people heal faster than others.
There are a few special precautions during recovery: for example,
bending or lifting can prolong swelling, therefore this is not
recommended for three weeks after surgery. Running, cycling, or
aerobics should not resume for about 6 weeks Contact sports should
be avoided for 3 months, as it takes that long for the bones in your
nose to fully heal. You may drive when the swelling subsides enough
not to interfere with vision, and you may fly two to three weeks
after surgery.
As always, healing continues to improve the result for as long as a
year, and sometimes longer. Feelings like stiffness and reduced
sensation to the tip of the nose may take a number of months to
improve. We give our patients detailed written post-op instructions
on what to expect and when they can hope to resume certain
activities.
RESULTS
Our goal is improvement with a
natural appearance. We would like to achieve
perfection but God does a pretty good job of this whereas surgeons,
patients, and healing are limited to improvement. But that is O.K.
We can always find subtle things that might have been improved even
more, so realistic expectations are very important. Sometimes a
patient will request a nose like a certain celebrity. Remember, we
work with what we have, and there is no perfect model nose that
every one should have. (The world would be less interesting if we
all looked the same!)
While some noses need to be smaller, some larger, some wider, some
straighter, the goal is always harmony and aesthetic improvement, as
well as a good airway for adequate breathing. “Natural” is our goal,
and other people likely will not know that surgery has been
performed. There is an old saying: “the best plastic surgery usually
goes unnoticed”.
While many pre-operative patients who are unhappy with their nose
spend a great deal of energy focusing on this feature, once surgery
is complete and it has healed, we usually find that they don’t spend
a lot of time thinking about it. . Now it blends in and harmonizes
with the rest of their face. That is a good thing.
If you have been considering some type of nose enhancement, now is
the time to call Chatham Facial Plastic Surgery and set up an
appointment to meet with Dr. Chatham in a personal, private
consultation. Call today at (502) 895-4820 or contact us on- line
now.
Visit our
plastic /
cosmetic surgery
offices located in
Louisville, Kentucky (KY) and
New Albany, Indiana (IN).
Click here to see
before and after photos of this procedure
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the procedure buttons below for more information: |
FACE/NECK
LIFT
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EAR SURGERY |
EYELID LIFT |
FOREHEAD/BROWS
LIFT |
NOSE
RESHAPING |
LIP
AUGMENTATION |
BOTOX®Cosmetic |
CHIN
AUGMENTATION
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FILLERS |
CHEEK
AUGMENTATION |
SKIN
RESURFACING |
LASER |
SKIN
CARE |
MEDIA
CENTER |
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