Dr. Amy Bandy Nose Surgery Before and After Photo
Dr. Amy Bandy
RHINOPLASTY-
NOSE COSMETIC SURGERY
Dr. Amy Bandy’s offices can help with your nose surgery concerns.
People who request rhinoplasty surgery typically are looking for surgery to reshape their nose. Although rhinoplasty is often sought for cosmetic reasons, it can also help correct structural defects that may cause breathing problems. When meeting with Dr. Amy Bandy, she will evaluate your nose and your desired results and discuss in detail what surgical plan will be best for you.
Rhinoplasty Surgery Candidates
People seeking cosmetic rhinoplasty should be at least in their mid teens — 15-16 for girls, and slightly older for boys. At these ages, the nasal bones have matured enough and the shape of the nose has stabilized enough to proceed with surgery. All rhinoplasty patients should have realistic expectations for their surgery and have a clear idea of what they are looking to achieve and what is ideal versus what is realistic for their anatomy. It is helpful for Dr. Bandy to know, prior to surgery, what the patient hopes to look like after their rhinoplasty, but it is important that those expectations be discussed in detail with the patient so that it is clearly understood what is surgically possible. Before the rhinoplasty surgery, you’ll have a chance to discuss your personal goals in detail with Dr. Amy Bandy. At your consultation, she will go over the details of the type of surgery that will best meet your goals and review with you the proposed surgical procedure, the expected recovery, and the anticipated results. You will have the option to have computer imaging so that you will have an idea of what your nose will look like after the healing process.
Rhinoplasty Cost and Financing
The cost of rhinoplasty surgery varies depending on several factors. Each individual procedure is unique, depending on the individual’s physiology and cosmetic goals. If part of the surgery is being performed for breathing problems, insurance may cover a portion of the procedure. Financing for surgery is available to qualified applicants, and there are different options available.
Risks and Benefits of Nose Surgery
Rhinoplasty surgery carries the same risks as any other surgery, such as bleeding, infection, and reactions to medications or anesthesia. In addition to these risks, there are some risks that are unique to rhinoplasty. These risks include broken blood vessels that can lead to red spots and small scars on the nose, scarring internally that can lead to nasal breathing difficulty, and excessive scar tissue formation that may be noticible. You might require a revision procedure at some point in the future to obtain your best results.
Preparing for Rhinoplasty Surgery
After you have met with Dr. Amy Bandy and determined when your surgery will take place, a pre-operative appointment will be made between 1-2 weeks before your procedure. You will receive detailed instructions at that time, your expectations will be reviewed again with Dr. Bandy, and your pre-operative photos and labs will be taken. You will be given a prescription for pain medications and an antibiotic. It’s a good idea to make sure you have filled you prescription before surgery, as you will want this after your anesthesia wears off and probably won’t feel like going out to pick up a prescription at that stage of your recovery. You should also have someone drive you to and from your procedure, because you will not be able to drive immediately after your surgery. Other than that, you will want to prepare yourself mentally for the physical change that you’ll be going through, as well as the recovery time that will be necessary.
About the Rhinoplasty Procedure
There are two approaches for a cosmetic rhinoplasty, either an “open” or “closed” approach. This refers to the incision that Dr. Bandy will make to get access to the internal structures of the nose. A closed approach has all incisions inside the nose, so there is no visible scarring. An open approach has an additional small scar across the base of the nose, the columella, to allow complete opening of the soft tissues for full exposure. Dr. Amy Bandy uses both approaches, and will determine which approach will be the best for each individual patient, depending on their anatomy and their goals. After the incision is made, the cartilage and bone that make up the framework of the nose are then exposed and sculpted to create the desired shape and profile. Dr. Bandy then stitches the skin back into place to complete the nose surgery. Cosmetic rhinoplasty generally takes one to two hours and is usually an outpatient procedure. When functional nose surgery is done at the same time, it may take a little longer.
Recovery after Rhinoplasty Surgery
When you wake up from surgery, you may have a headache, but typically you will have little to no pain in your nose since you will still experience the effects of the numbing medication. After a few hours, you can expect to be somewhat sore. Beginning on the first day and continuing for several days after, you can expect swelling and bruising to increase — black eyes are not unusual after rhinoplasty surgery. Applying cold compresses around, but not directly to, the nose will help reduce swelling. Additionally, most patients report that the pain is not as bad as what their appearance may make it seem.
Rhinoplasty Results
The vast majority of rhinoplasty patients are very happy with their results. In many cases patient want a subtle change to the appearnce of their nose, and a very slight change to the structure of the nose — sometimes as little as a few millimeters — can produce noticible and pleasing results. To ensure the greatest chance of satisfactory healing following your procedure, there are several steps you should take following your surgery. Dr. Amy Bandy will go over recovery in detail with you and what you can do to optimize healing.
Revision Rhinoplasty
Dr. Amy Bandy consults with a number of patients who have had one or more surgeries of their nose prior to coming to her office, and are still not satisfied with their results. When mistakes are made during a rhinoplasty procedure, or when patients are simply so dissatisfied with the results of their procedure that they cannot accept them, secondary revision surgery is the answer. After the initial nose surgery, the tissue usually must be allowed to heal for a period of time before a revision procedure may be undertaken, nevertheless significant improvements may be seen through revision rhinoplasty.
In addition to the current offices, Dr. Amy Bandy’s offices may one day expand to Carson,Lakewood, CA, Denver, Las Vegas, Nashville, Oklahoma City, Portland, Tucson, Albuquerque, Atlanta, Fresno, Sacramento, Kansas City, Cleveland, Miami, Tulsa, Salt Lake City or Reno.