There are many valid reasons patients look to rhinoplasty or nasal correction surgery. Maybe you seek to improve an aspect of your appearance you haven’t liked from birth, or repair damage caused by an injury. Or, perhaps, you may simply want to be able to breathe through your nose
Either way, rhinoplasty surgery can have a profound effect on our lives going forward. The nose is a part of the body that’s nearly impossible for us to ignore. Every day noses play a large role in defining facial aesthetics and everyday breath passes or attempts to pass through it.
Therefore, once one decides to seek nasal correction, it can be tempting to jump without looking first. It’s easy to forget that rhinoplasty is a major surgery, and not all physicians have equal skills and training. Without open communication between you and your doctor, you risk having a result that might require additional surgery to correct.
Therefore, your initial consultation is crucial, both for you and your surgeon. It helps to ensure your surgery’s success. Dr. Sajjadian has the experience to know what questions to ask. Still, you need to do your part and consider beforehand what’s important to YOU. Here are ten topics to address in your consultation:
Your Doctor’s Training
This topic is first on this list for a reason. Your doctor’s credentials tell you how much faith to put into all the other information they share. The longer a doctor has been in training and in practice, the more knowledge and skill he or she has acquired.
Don’t be intimidated to ask your doctor about both their medical and specific plastic surgery training. You want to benefit from their experience, not help them establish it. Although no two patients are precisely the same, an experienced, well-trained physician is more likely to have treated a patient similar to you.
A good physician will be proud of their training and experience. After all, they’ve worked very hard to obtain it. Dr. Sajjadian holds an MD with degrees from Drexel, Emory, and Temple Universities.
Your Doctor’s Board Certification
Just as medical education is essential, so is board certification. Medical societies are much more than clubs for doctors. They are groups that work with physicians to educate them and keep practicing at the highest standards. Being a member often requires a physician to have both their personal knowledge and facilities certified regularly.
The science of plastic surgery is always evolving. Without continuing education, even the best-trained doctors can lose touch with the latest surgery techniques and treatments. As a result, they can get stuck doing the same procedures in the same way and without ever improving.
Ask your physician to which medical boards is he or she a member. The more boards they join, the higher their desire to be versed in the latest treatments. Dr. Sajjadian is one of the only triple board-certified plastic surgeons in the US.
Access to Hospital and Accredited Facilities
It’s important to consider where your surgery will take place. Some physicians will work Only with local hospitals, others use their own offices. Consider for yourself, how accessible the office or facility is to where you live, and how you will arrange transportation. Due to sedation, you won’t be able to arrive or leave the procedure by yourself.
Just as important, if your doctor does surgery in-office, make sure their facility is certified by any federal or state agencies or by Medicare. These organizations will inspect them regularly for quality and cleanliness.
And, you should even ask to see where your surgery will take place. When the day of the procedure comes, you’ll be more comfortable with a familiar setting. Dr. Sajjadian offers you an accredited facility in Newport Beach that is both comfortable and modern.
Good Candidates for Rhinoplasty
It’s good to start with a review of why you’re considering rhinoplasty in the first place. Think about what cosmetic features of your nose you’d like to change. Is your nose crooked? Does the bridge of your nose have a bump? Do you feel it’s too large or asymmetrical in some way?
Just as important as your look, consider how well you can breathe through your nose. Many patients go their whole lives without the ability to breathe freely through their nose. This problem can have a detrimental effect on a variety of activities, including sleep, athletics, speaking, and singing.
And, rhinoplasty is not a one-look-fits-all procedure. Be sure to make clear to your physician how you’d like your nose to look and function as well as how to keep realistic expectations. Rhinoplasty surgeon Dr. Sajjadian will gladly help you determine if the procedure is a good option according to your needs.
Varieties of Rhinoplasty Surgery
Depending on the needs you discuss in your initial consultation, there are several possible choices of rhinoplasty. For example, some patients find themselves dissatisfied with the work of their prior physician. The revision rhinoplasty is a procedure that corrects mistakes made on previous surgeries.
Today, you have more aesthetic options than ever. Unfortunately, some physicians continue to offer patients only one option – a Caucasian-featured nose. With ethnic rhinoplasty, patients can improve the contours of their nose while respecting the beauty of their African, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, or East Asian heritage.
Another option, septoplasty, is a procedure to straighten a patient’s nose by modifying their nasal cartilage or septum. Often it’s performed in conjunction with nasal obstruction correction that addresses anything within your nose that may hinder your breathing. Dr. Sajjadian, in an expert consultation, can help you determine which procedure or combination of methods is best for you.
Preparation for Your Procedure
Just like for any other surgery, your body needs to be prepared for rhinoplasty. It’s important to ask, given your specific goals, what you’ll need to do in the weeks and days leading up to surgery.
Upon deciding to move forward with rhinoplasty, you’ll likely first need to get some lab tests done. There may be certain medications you’ll need to avoid or discontinue to minimize the risk of surgical complications. For example, aspirin and other anti-inflammatory drugs (including some nutritional supplements) can increase the amount your body bleeds, which is not ideal during surgery.
If you smoke, you’ll probably have to quit for a period of time leading up to your procedure. Finally, you’ll need to arrange both for someone to take you to and from your surgery and someone to watch over you for at least the first night afterward. Don’t hesitate to ask Dr. Sajjadian how to best plan for before and after your procedure.
Rhinoplasty Surgery Steps
To start, you will receive either traditional general or intravenous anesthesia. Keep in mind the goal is for you to be as comfortable as possible during the process.
Overall there are two methods by which rhinoplasty surgery is conducted: open or closed. In a closed procedure, all incisions are made inside the nose through the nostrils. With open rhinoplasty, your doctor makes an additional incision in the tissue between the nostrils known as the columella. The needs of your correction will dictate the approach your doctor uses.
Further incisions depend on the needs of your specific procedure. To lessen your nose’s size, your doctor will make an incision to reduce the amount of internal cartilage. In septoplasty, your physician will make the incision required to straighten your nose’s appearance. Rest assured, Dr. Sajjadian will help you understand your options to create your ideal rhinoplasty experience.
Rhinoplasty Procedure Recovery
It’s essential to ask about steps in your rhinoplasty recovery and the time involved. To finish your procedure, your doctor may apply a combination of splints and gauze inside your nose to help cease any bleeding. Within a few days, patients usually return to the office to have this packing material removed.
Also, as a result of the procedure, you may or may not have stitches that need removal. If you do, you may need to make an additional return trip to the office. This step, along with the rest of your recovery, will affect the timing of when you can return to work or any other exercise routines.
It’s also necessary to have someone help you with your first return to the doctor’s office, especially if you are taking any pain medication. Dr. Sajjadian feels surgery isn’t done until the patient fully recovers. Don’t hesitate to ask him what to expect for your specific recovery.
Your Look, Both Immediately after the Procedure and in the Coming Years
As with most cosmetic surgeries, you, as the patient, need to be prepared to look, in the short term, worse than when you started. Don’t worry. It’s normal for your nose to be swollen and bruised for a few days after the procedure.
As you recover, you’ll begin to see the real improvements your doctor has made. It’s essential before surgery to look at a variety of before and after pictures. Doing so will give you a better sense of your physician’s skill level and what results to expect.
When it comes to the aesthetic improvement possible with rhinoplasty, a picture tells it all. Feel free to view the before and after photos on Dr. Sajjadian’s site and feel to ask about photos of patients who had procedures similar to the one you’re planning.
Cost Considerations
Whether you think you can’t afford rhinoplasty, or to you, price is no object, it makes sense to ask your doctor about it. Sometimes, patients make assumptions about cost based on the stories of others and later are surprised.
Just as with the procedure itself, every patient has a unique insurance and cost situation. If you seek rhinoplasty to correct breathing issues, your insurance may cover part or all of the cost. Therefore, it’s also a good idea to call your insurance company before going into your initial consultation.
Keep in mind, with rhinoplasty, you’re investing in one to two things you’re affected by every day – your face and your ability to breathe. It’s one of the most noticeable improvements to your body you can make. Dr. Sajjadian is happy to discuss what to expect in terms of cost and what financing options he may be able to offer.
Your Final Choice
It’s important to remember that the final choice to move forward with rhinoplasty is yours. Don’t hesitate to bring up every topic that concerns you. As mentioned, you’re considering a change to a body part you see and feel every day.
When done correctly, the results of rhinoplasty often bring patients to tears. See for yourself by looking through the before and after photos and videos on Dr. Sajjadian’s site. No less profound is freedom patients can feel at the ability to breathe through their nose for the first time.
Therefore, it’s worth playing an active role in learning the procedure and finding the right physician. At its best, rhinoplasty helps you, and the rest of the world see more clearly the beauty you already have. Dr. Sajjadian welcomes you to discuss all your needs and concerns. Contact him today to schedule your consultation at his Newport Beach facility.