Open rhinoplasty is one of the two basic types of “nose job,” the other being closed rhinoplasty.
In open rhinoplasty, the surgeon creates a small incision in the column of skin that is between the two nostrils (the columella). The reason for this incision is that it lets the surgeon lift off the skin from the tip of the nose. Many other incisions will be made inside the nose, whether the procedure is open or closed rhinoplasty. But the extra incision across the columella gives the surgeon easier access to the structures inside the nose. For most people, the scarring from this incision is minimal to unnoticeable after healing.
The open rhinoplasty technique allows the surgeon to operate on the cartilage in the nasal tip while it is in its natural position. It is easier for the surgeon to visualize exactly what to do to reshape the tip and to accomplish it more easily.
There are advantages and disadvantages to both open and closed rhinoplasty techniques, and some cosmetic plastic surgeons are strongly devoted to one technique over the other. If you’re considering rhinoplasty, you owe it to yourself to find out what the advantages and disadvantages to the two techniques would be in your specific situation. Some surgeons are skilled and experienced in both, and use whichever procedure he or she feels will benefit the individual patient most.
Reasons for choosing open rhinoplasty over closed include the following:
- the tip of the nose is excessively wide or asymmetrical
- the tip of the nose projects out too far from the face
- the tip of the nose does not project far enough from the face
- the nose is excessively long or has a drooping tip
- the nose is very crooked.
The extra incision used in open rhinoplasty does not make a significant difference in recovery from the procedure. That is because the skin will heal faster than the cartilage and bone anyway. The underlying question in each case is whether the cut gives the surgeon access that is superior enough to warrant the tiny scar left on the columella by the open rhinoplasty procedure.
One factor patients should consider is that open rhinoplasty is (according to some surgeons) easier to learn and easier to teach. In other words, open rhinoplasty is the technique that most practicing nasal plastic surgery specialists today learned. But some of the advantages are inarguable. For example, the cause of an asymmetrical or twisting tip can be more easily found with open rhinoplasty. The surgeon can also place structural grafts such as tip grafts by using the open technique. The open procedure is particularly favored when reconstruction of the tip of the nose is necessary.
Disadvantages of open rhinoplasty include the fact that the operation will take a little longer, and that there will be more swelling at the tip of the nose after open rhinoplasty. For those prospective patients who need no tip work at all, open rhinoplasty creates a little more risk and unnecessary trauma.
Mike Brains is the editor and owner of www.cosmeticsurgeryguru.com you can find other nose job articles on his site.
