my greatest fear of a nose job is the doctor snapping my nose. Thats not urban legend is it, that doctors break your nose during nose surgery?
Will my Doctor Break my Nose During a Rhinoplasty?
Doctor Answers 68
Reason to break the nasal bones during rhinoplasty
Many people are concerned that they will have their nasal bones fractured during rhinoplasty. So, why would this need to be done in some cases and not in others? The simple answer is that when taking down a nasal hump, it is important to narrowing the nasal bones in order the close the "open roof" created during hump reduction. Without this step the nose will appear too wide. The other general reason is to straighten the nose when it is crooked. When tip work is the only thing that is needed, it is typically unnecessary to break the bones. Recovery is prolonged a little as of a result and bruising is more common when the bones have to be broken.
Breaking the Nasal Bones
Depending on what is being done to reshape the nose, it may be necessary to break the nasal bones.
This is done with special bone cutting instruments for precision.
Of course, you would be unaware of what is happening during surgery with sedation or anesthesia to allow you to sleep through the entire procedure.
The pain from the breaking of the bones is similar to a very mild headache.
Breaking of the nose (osteotomy) during rhinoplasty
No, it’s not an “urban legend” although we don’t call it snapping the nose, but rather osteotomies. It is not always indicated, and can be avoided in some cases when just rasping or filing of the walls of the nasal bridge are adequate, but for many cases especially when a bump is taken down or the bridge is very wide, osteotomies are an essential component of rhinoplasty.
You might also like...
To reshape the nose "breaking bones" may be needed
To reshape the nose in many cases the nasal bones and nasal wall may need to be repositioned. This is accomplished with surgical cutting instruments to make precise cuts to reposition the nose. It is not severely painful and if needed the surgeon will give the patient some form of pain relief to minimize the discomfort.
Rhinoplasty, Narrowing the Nasal Bones or Breaking the Nasal Bones
Rhinoplasty is an art and oftentimes a veriety of techniques are used to get the best aesthetic outocome.
Breaking the bones is not done in all rhinoplasty patients. Often times, reshaping of the bones are performed without breaking the bones by special instruments.
The technique of Osteotomies or controlled narrowing of the nasal bones is common aspect of rhinoplasty procedures. This portion of the procedure can be fairly painless.
This technique is routinely used to:
- Narrow the upper third of the nose
- Narrow the nasal bones and improve the aesthetics of the nose after hump reduction
- Reducing the width of the upper portion of the nose by repositioning of the bones
- Correcting the deviation of the crooked nose or previously broken nose
Nasal Bones have to be reshaped to get the most pleasing result during many types of rhinoplasty procedures.
Hope this was helpful.
Everyone is afraid of nose breaking during rhinoplasty
There hasn't been a patient that isn't afraid of what happens during rhinoplasty when it comes to breaking the nose. The image of a doctor breaking the nose with a hammer is far from reality. In fact, carefully cutting the nasal bones with a fine osteotome, or chisel, during rhinoplasty is a common maneuver with predictable results. I use a 2 mm wide osteotome (about one-tenth of an inch) and precisely cut the bones where narrowing is needed. This is just one of over 150 steps in a rhinoplasty, but one that should not create incredible fear.
Osteotomies (Surgically Breaking the Nose) and Rhinoplasty
Because each nose is unique, every rhinoplasty should be approached on an individual basis. The need for osteotomies (surgically breaking the nose) will depend on the type of the nasal deformity and the goals for surgery.
The basic premise of surgically breaking the nasal bones (called osteotomies) is that a delicate instrument is used to cut the bones under the skin. The surgeon then repositions them to acheive the desired result.
Osteotomies are performed during rhinoplasty for several reasons.
- Narrowing a wide bridge (top of nose): One of the most common reasons for surgically breaking the nose is to narrow the bridge after removal of a dorsal hump. When a hump is removed, it leaves a gap along the top of the bridge. This gap needs to be closed so that there is not a depression on the top of the bridge (frequently called an open roof deformity).
- Narrowing a wide boney base (sides of nose): When the nose is wide where the nasal bones meet the cheek bones, osteotomies can be performed to narrow the width. This usually gives the bridge more definition from the front.
- Straightening a deviated or crooked nose: If the nasal bones are crooked, they can be repositioned to give the nose a straighter appearance.
Osteotomies usually increase the amount of bruising and swelling, but when performed correctly, can dramatically improve the appearance of the nose. Risks of osteotomies (if not performed correctly) include irregularity of the bone, palpable or visible boney ridges underneath the skin, crookedness of the bridge, and nasal sidewall collapse.
Rhinoplasty is one of the most difficult facial plastic...
Rhinoplasty is one of the most difficult facial plastic surgical procedures to master. Osteotomies are one of the more difficult maneuvers to understand in rhinoplasty. Having written several papers and chapters on this topic, and having taught this to other surgeons in the cadaver lab during my Facial Plastic Surgery Course, I can tell you these statements are absolutely true.
The indications for breaking the bones of the nose are (not all-inclusive):
•to close the top of the nose when we remove it during dorsal hump reduction (closing an 'open roof')
•to fix a crooked nose (previously broken or otherwise)
•to narrow a wide bony base to the nose
The techniques we use depend on the situation and what's needed.
From the patient's perspective, it's one more reason to choose someone who has a lot of experience in rhinoplasty.
From a recovery standpoint, it increases the likelihood of black eyes after surgery (though it does not mean they always happen, nor does it mean if you have black eyes your bones were definitely broken).
Breaking the bones of the nose, or osteotomies, are...
Breaking the bones of the nose, or osteotomies, are oftentimes done in a precise, controlled fashion in order to narrow the width of the bridge of the nose during rhinoplasty.
This maneuver is quite common in rhinoplasty surgery and can produce a nice change or refinement in a nose that looks too big or wide on the face.