The Surgeon Minute

Harmony and Balance in Rhinoplasty

Harmony and Balance in Rhinoplasty

Have you ever looked in the mirror and wished your nose looked different?  Maybe you like the way it looks from the front, but you don’t love the side profile.  If you’ve ever considered nose surgery but found yourself overwhelmed with the information on the Internet, plastic surgeon and rhinoplasty specialist Dr. Michael Lee of The Wall Center in Shreveport, Louisiana has some great advice to help you navigate your way from consultation to recovery.  “What you’re trying to do is achieve harmony.  When people look at us, we don’t want them to notice our nose, we want them to notice our eyes,” says Dr. Lee.

by Michael Lee, MD
The Plastic Surgery Channel

michael lee rhino.00_00_51_28.Still003How To Choose a Surgeon

Choosing a surgeon to improve your nose involves doing your homework.  Once you have narrowed down to several surgeon options or recommendations, you’ll need to verify that they’ve had proper training and are certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery or the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.  The next step is to view previous noses they’ve operated on.  “I think it’s very important to see before and after results of the surgeon,” stresses Dr. Lee.  If a surgeon doesn’t have many results posted on the Internet, they will often have additional before and after pictures available in their office for you to review at the time of your consultation.

 Communication = Success

A successful rhinoplasty is the result of more than just a skilled surgeon.  “The most important thing is that there’s really good communication,” says Dr. Lee.  He urges patients to take the time to discuss their desired result and all of the options.  There are many elements that combine to make your nose what it is: nostrils, bridge, septum, nasal bone, cartilage and tip.   Changing one or several of these elements during surgery can restore facial harmony – the first time.  “You don’t want to go back and have your nose fixed a second time.  That’s a much more challenging operation,” says Dr. Lee.

michael lee rhino.00_01_09_22.Still001

 Visualizing the Result

In the past, rhinoplasty consultations often involved the surgeon examining a patient’s nose and facial composition, followed by a discussion of options.  The only tools that were available to aid the patient in visualizing their own results were a mirror or printed photographs, which limited the angles a patient could see.  Dr. Lee uses Vectra ® 3D Imaging during his consultations to enable his patients to better understand and visualize the expected outcome based on their discussion.  “We take a picture of the patient’s face and then during the consultation, I make the changes on their face they want, and they get to see what it looks like.”  The computer generated 3D image allows the surgeon and the patient to analyze the current nose as well as the desired outcome from many angles.

 

Click to add a comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The Surgeon Minute

More in The Surgeon Minute

Plastic Surgeon or ENT for Your Rhinoplasty?

Plastic Surgeon or ENT for Your Rhinoplasty?

Katherine StuartJanuary 24, 2020

Risk Reduction for Breast Implant-Associated ALCL

Katherine StuartJanuary 13, 2020
Diet, Exercise, and Plastic Surgery

Diet, Exercise, and Plastic Surgery

Katherine StuartJanuary 9, 2020
CoolPeel: Advantages of CO2 Laser with Less Downtime

CoolPeel: Advantages of CO2 Laser with Less Downtime

Katherine StuartJanuary 3, 2020
Scarless Abs Are a Reality

Scarless Abs Are a Reality

Katherine StuartDecember 30, 2019
Breast Surgery without a Breast Implant

Breast Surgery Without Implants

Katherine StuartDecember 12, 2019
Surgeons Work to Define Breast Implant Illness

Surgeons Working to Define Breast Implant Illness

Katherine StuartNovember 27, 2019
Post Bariatric Surgery: What to Expect

Post Bariatric Surgery: What to Expect

Katherine StuartNovember 20, 2019
Planning Plastic Surgery by the Season

Planning Plastic Surgery by the Season

Katherine StuartNovember 8, 2019