Rhinoplasty

Rhinoplasty (Greek; Rhinos, "Nose" + Plastikos, "to shape") is a type of plastic surgery that is used to improve the function (reconstructive surgery) or appearance (cosmetic surgery) of a person's nose. Rhinoplasty is also commonly called a "nose job."

Although the first intranasal rhinoplasty was performed by John Orland Roe in 1887, the surgery was pioneered by Jacques Joseph (b. Jakob Lewin Joseph) in 1898 to help those who felt that the shape or size of their nose caused them embarrassment and social discomfort. His first rhinoplasty patient was a young man whose large nose caused him such embarrassment that he felt unable to appear in public. He approached Joseph because he had heard of a previous successful otoplasty which the surgeon had performed.

Rhinoplasty can be performed under a general anesthetic or with local anesthetic, depending on patient or doctor preference. Incisions are made inside the rim of the nostrils. Sometimes, tiny, inconspicuous incisions are also made on the rim of the nose. Soft tissues of the nose are then separated from the underlying structures, and the cartilage and bone causing the perceived deformity are reshaped.

In some cases, the surgeon may shape a small piece of the patient's own cartilage or bone to add to, strengthen, or increase the structure of the nose. Sometimes this is done for cosmetic reasons (to improve the shape of the nasal tip, for example) or it may be done to improve breathing and function of the nose.

In rarer cases, a synthetic implant may be used to reconstruct the nose if the normal structure of bone and cartilage is badly damaged or weakened.

To improve nasal function, a septoplasty may be performed, with or without cosmetic changes. The cartilage that is removed may be used as a graft to improve the appearance of the nose, if cosmetic changes are desired.