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Birth defect or accidents may unfortunately leave you with a rather unshapely nose that does not match your face well in shape or size. Rhinoplasty surgery, which is a branch of plastic surgery, was developed initially for corrective surgery on the nose to fit in better proportion to the face. This surgery was also intended to correct the shape of the nose to eliminate the problem of constricted breathing. Apart from these benefits from corrective surgery, rhinoplasty in recent years is increasingly being viewed as a way to bring aesthetic changes to the face.

Rhinoplasty is one of the most common cosmetic procedures today, with hundreds of thousands of patients undergoing rhinoplasty surgery each year. Despite its popularity, rhinoplasty is viewed as one of the most difficult cosmetic procedures. Motives for having rhinoplasty surgery may differ, be it improvement in the breathing process, reduction or enhancement in the nose size, or eradication of injury marks. Depending on the patient's condition the rhinoplasty surgeon can use local or general anesthesia. This nose reshaping procedure generally does not take more than two hours in most of the cases.

There are two main techniques involved in the procedure of rhinoplasty, namely closed and open rhinoplasty.

Closed Rhinoplasty

If a minor reshaping is required, most rhinoplasty surgeons prefer to make incisions within the nose and then to insert an instrument that separates the skin of the nose from the bone and cartilage. After being exposed in this manner, the bone and cartilage are removed. They are then reshaped and rearranged to give the nose the desired shape. After the rearrangement is complete, the nose tissues are spread over the newly shaped structures. Towards the end of the procedure the original incisions are closed up.

Open Rhinoplasty

When it involves a major nose reshaping job, rhinoplasty surgeons prefer not to make incisions inside the nose. In case of a major reshaping, the incisions are made over an area of the nose called the columella which is a vertical strip of skin that separates the nostrils. This is a comparatively more complex procedure and referred to as "open" rhinoplasty.

After the reshaping of the nose is complete, incisions are closed up immediately in both the cases. Some puffy materials are used inside the nose to support the renewed structure along the nasal air passages. In addition to that, an external splint is also applied to the nose for at least six to eight days to help the nose keep its new shape. This splint also helps the nose through the healing process.