Secondary rhinoplasty also called revision rhinoplasty is corrective nasal surgery. If you have had a rhinoplasty and you are not satisfied with the results of your surgery or you have a problem with breathing, revision rhinoplasty can be a second chance for you but it is associated with some complications and risks.
Revision rhinoplasty may not be completely successful to correct cosmetic deformities which occurred in the primary surgery or not corrected in the last surgery. Revision rhinoplasty can be considered as the most complicated facial plastic surgery even more complicated than the primary nose job. This is more challenging because of the presence of scar tissue of primary surgery, traumatizing the nasal structure, and lack of tissue and cartilage to work with.
Common revision rhinoplasty complications and risks
Revision rhinoplasty is also associated with some risks and complications same as any other surgery including:
Infection
Infection is another related complication with the nose job same as any other surgery, although it rarely occurs for rhinoplasty patients. The signs of infection are high temperature, abnormal swelling or pain, foul-smelling nasal discharge, and inflammation.
Bleeding
The nose is containing thin blood vessels which may be damaged during the surgery. Usually, most patients lose about 50 to 150 mL of blood during the operation but if they fail to follow their doctor’s instruction the bleeding can occur post up the surgery. Doctors ask their patient avoid to take some medications that act as a blood thinner such as aspirin or ibuprofen and don’t blow their nose for first days after the surgery.
Swelling and bruising
One of the most common complications of nose surgery is swelling and bruising around the nose and eyes. Although it usually subsides after two weeks, some minor swelling may last up to six months post up the surgery.
Dissatisfaction with outcome
It is another risks of revision rhinoplasty because some patients may have unrealistic expectations about the surgery results. On the other hand, revision rhinoplasty may don’t provide you the perfect results because the nasal structure is damaged in the primary surgery.
Common reasons for getting revision rhinoplasty
If you have any of the following problems, you are the right candidate for secondary rhinoplasty:
- Deviated septum
- Nasal airway obstruction
- Worsened asymmetry
- Incomplete shaping
- Artificial cosmetic appearance to the nose
- Over reduction
- Excessive or inadequate tip projection
- The collapse of cartilage or nasal bones
The creation of a bump on the nasal bone is a common reason for having secondary rhinoplasty. It can be a result of a small collapse of the connected septal cartilage after removal, insufficient removal, and the growth after the primary surgery.
Secondary rhinoplasty also performed to correct under projection nose tip by extending the nasal cartilage. If in the primary nose surgery too much cartilage or nasal bone has been removed, the nose seems to drop too much from the side view.
Profile deformity is another reason for doing revision rhinoplasty. When the surgeon in the primary nose job removed too much bone in order to correct a bump on the nose, a scooped out profile may occur.
How is revision rhinoplasty performed?
The surgeon selects the surgical technique for revision rhinoplasty base on the nature and extent of the problem. If the surgery includes the removal of excess bone or cartilage in the bridge, it is a simple procedure but when nose needs to be restructured it is a complicated operation. The most difficult type of revision rhinoplasty is for patients who have had too much tissue removed. This procedure requires the use of tissue grafts harvested from the rib, ear or the temple region to restore the nose structure.
General speaking there is some risks and complication with revision rhinoplasty same as any other surgery. It is more complicated than the primary nose surgery because the nasal structure is traumatized so its risks and complications are more than the primary nose job. But if you undertake a revision rhinoplasty with an expert rhinoplasty surgeon who is an expert in this field you will ensure to have a safe surgery with the desirable results.
