GUEST POST
Plastic surgery can be amazing and often the best way to improve your looks quickly, and easily. However, sometimes a rhinoplasty, more commonly known as a nose job, can fail. This can leave you feeling distraught and lacking the self-confidence you were expecting when you had the procedure done. The good news is that even these issues have a fix with revision rhinoplasty, which is basically just a fancy way of describing a procedure intended to repair both the form and function of your nose.
The question is why do some nose jobs fail? Honestly, there are several reasons, and luckily, most of them are preventable if you take the time to understand them. Let’s look at four reasons and see what you or your specialist can do about them.
FIRST: A MISCALCULATION BY THE DOCTOR
Sometimes even the best-laid plans go wrong, and this applies to plastic surgery, too. Fortunately, this typically only happens when a person visits a plastic surgeon that is unqualified, or unlicensed. This isn’t a huge problem in the US or UK, but it’s astonishing how many people travel abroad for plastic surgery, including nose jobs. The real issue arises when they get lured in by a low price and don’t vet their surgeon properly. This can lead to unexpected results thanks to the doctor’s lack of skill, or experience.
Avoiding this problem is a simple matter though: only visit plastic surgeons that have a good reputation. A nose job is a serious matter, so make sure you do your due diligence and research the doctor you plan on visiting for the procedure.
SECOND: SOME NOSES ARE JUST HARD TO WORK WITH
A big factor in the failure of a nose job is the nose itself. To put it bluntly, some noses are just more difficult to perform surgery on and transform into the desired shape. This is truer when you consider the difficulty of the procedure itself – some are difficult, some are easy. When a doctor has to perform a difficult procedure on a difficult nose, then the chances of failure go up.
Don’t lose hope though. Although a “perfect storm” of factors can increase the odds of a failed rhinoplasty, the odds are almost always in your favour as long as the doctor is qualified and experienced. Any doctor worth their title won’t perform surgery if it’s expected to fail, so as long as you’ve picked the right doctor, you have nothing to worry about.
THIRD: POST SURGERY COMPLICATIONS
All surgeries carry the risk of postoperative complications, but with rhinoplasty, that risk is relatively low, hovering around 3% to 4%. In most cases, complications from a nose job include problems such as infections, breathing disturbances, and postoperative deformities. None of these are pleasant, though specialists can fix the deformities and breathing disturbances with a revision procedure.
Unlike the previous two problems, this one has a lot to do with the patient themselves, namely their behaviour after the operation. While the chance of having an infection, deformity, or breathing problem is small, those chances go up dramatically if the patient doesn’t follow the doctor’s instructions. For example, wearing glasses despite warnings not to by your doctor can cause a deformity.
Basically, if you want your rhinoplasty to be a success, do what your doctor tells you to do post-op. This will reduce the risk of any complications that can ruin your nose job.
FOURTH: CARTILAGE AND BONE LOSS
Nose jobs are a delicate surgery considering how simple the overall procedure is. Most times, the margin for error is relatively small, and the doctor must perform the operation much like how a skilled artist performs their craft. This means that minor errors can lead to big problems.
Removing too much cartilage can cause deformities in the nose tip while scooping too much of the bridge can cause a larger amount of bone being lost than originally expected. In either event, it can leave the patient unsatisfied with their nose job.
Once again this problem is best met by properly vetting and researching the surgeon beforehand. You don’t want an amateur working on your nose, overconfident in their abilities, and lacking in the experience needed to perform such delicate procedure. Doctors with good reputations for nose jobs have earned them from years of practice and can perform even the most delicate procedures with a high rate of success. Make sure you’re seeing a qualified doctor for your nose job, and you shouldn’t have to worry about small errors ruining your nose job.
RHINOPLASTY FAILURE RATE
Nose jobs aren’t that difficult in most cases, and typically only have a 5% failure rate for tip surgery and a 1.5% failure rate for larger secondary surgeries. That’s not a bad ratio of success to failure. However, considering the popularity of nose jobs, revision rhinoplasty is a booming industry. What this also means is that fixing nose jobs has become a specialized skill, allowing qualified doctors to perform the fixes with ease.
If you’ve suffered a failed nose job, don’t feel too bad about it. The damage always has a repair, and you can get your dream nose with a revision procedure. Just make sure you visit a qualified professional that knows what they’re doing. You’ll be glad you did when you look in the mirror and see your new look smiling back at you.
RHINOPLASTY DONE RIGHT
The ultimate way to avoid ever needing a revision rhinoplasty would be to see a board-certified professional. One whose before-and-after pictures and reviews can confirm their high-quality approach. Dr Marcelo Ghersi is a proud native of Miami, FL, and board-certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Specializing in facial procedures, Dr Ghersi performs many nose jobs in Miami, FL, treating a slew of functionality issues as well as meeting aesthetic goals. World-renowned for his skills, Dr Ghersi now operates out of his office in Miami, FL and serves South Florida patients.
