Open vs Closed Rhinoplasty: What’s the Difference?
Do you want a nose job? The medical term is rhinoplasty, and there are many reasons people get them done. These include medical reasons, such as difficulty breathing.
You may be unhappy with the shape or size of your nose or have a deviated septum. Whatever your reasons for wanting a nose job, there are different types of procedures.
Here we’ll discuss the differences between open vs closed rhinoplasty.
Open vs Closed Rhinoplasty Procedures
Open vs closed refers to the two types of rhinoplasty surgeries available. The surgeon alters the bone or cartilage and sometimes both to achieve changes in the nasal structure.
There are two ways of accessing this structure—open or closed.
Open Rhinoplasty Procedure
The open approach is an external rhinoplasty. In external rhinoplasty, the surgeon makes a small incision inside each side of the nose. A third incision outside the nose connects the right and left nostrils.
After making this third incision (a trans-columellar incision), the surgeon folds the skin up, exposing the lower nasal skeleton. The surgeon then has access to analyze the individual components of the current nasal alignment.
Due to the trans-columellar incision, there may be a slight scar under the nose, though it’s seldom noticeable. Patients generally experience more swelling after open rhinoplasty.
Closed Rhinoplasty Procedure
One of the other types of nose jobs is the closed rhinoplasty procedure. With closed rhinoplasty, the incisions are hidden inside the nose. This technique is less invasive than open rhinoplasty.
There’s no risk of scarring with closed rhinoplasty, and there’s also less welling afterward. It’s best performed on patients needing minimal work on the underlying skeleton and cartilage.
Benefits of Rhinoplasty
There are both medical and aesthetic benefits of rhinoplasty. Cosmetic benefits include fixing a nose that’s too large or too small for the face or has a bump near the bridge.
Another cosmetic reason people choose rhinoplasty is to fix a protruding, bulbous, or drooping nasal tip. Others choose rhinoplasty to fix a crooked nose.
Many people have medical issues requiring a rhinoplasty. These include a deviated septum, cleft palate, or cleft lip. Others need rhinoplasty to fix the nose after trauma or injury resulting in structural abnormalities.
Is your nose fully functional for breathing? If not, then you have a medical reason for a rhinoplasty.
Recovery Time
Don’t expect to see instant results from a rhinoplasty. It takes a few weeks for the initial swelling to subside. Aside from changes due to the natural aging process, your nose job lasts a lifetime!
Choosing Open vs Closed Rhinoplasty
The best person to help you choose when it comes to open vs closed rhinoplasty is your surgeon. She’ll know if your case requires a full open rhinoplasty or if a closed rhinoplasty is the better option.
Either way, you’ll end up with a beautiful new nose that helps you breathe better!
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