Now it’s up to Dr. Kearney to put his surgical expertise to work with revision rhinoplasty.
What is revision rhinoplasty?
The reasons patients come to Dr. Kearney for revision rhinoplasty are varied. Revision rhinoplasty can be needed for simple breathing, as the previous surgery has somehow occluded the nasal passages. It may be for cosmetic reasons such as the bridge sagging. Some people may have had as many as five or six prior surgeries.
Revision rhinoplasty demands expertise because it can be even more complicated than the original procedure. Tissue and cartilage grafts can be required to provide the required mass needed for the procedure. Sometimes the nose needs to, in effect, be rebuilt.
How is this done?
As is the case with all of his cosmetic surgeries, Dr. Kearney treats each case of revision nose surgery as a completely unique situation. Some of these surgeries can be straightforward, where the patient simply wants some additional bone or cartilage removed from the nasal bridge. Maybe the tip remained more bulbous than they were hoping.
Or they can involve a complete rebuilding of the nose. In these cases, the previous surgeon removed too much tissue, cartilage, or bone, leaving the patient disfigured. Revising these prior mistakes can require surgeries lasting up to four hours. These surgeries may require tissue grafts harvested from the ear, ribs, or temple regions to restore the necessary amount of cartilage, bone, and fascia. In these types of revisions, the skin and soft tissue can be a limitation due to previous scarring and a developed resistance to expansion. In these cases, it’s important to have realistic expectations.
In many revision rhinoplasties, the open method is preferred because it allows better access to the structures that may need grafting or rebuilding. Open rhinoplasty is done through an incision on the skin under the nose between the nostrils. If that sort of access isn’t needed, Dr. Kearney will use the closed method where all incisions are made inside the nose.
It’s important with all cosmetic surgeries to do your research into your surgeon, but this is even more the case with rhinoplasty. Dr. Kearney is a double Board Certified Plastic Surgeon: in Plastic Surgery with the American Board of Plastic Surgery, and in General Surgery with the American Board of Surgery. That’s the kind of experience needed for these procedures.
Are you unhappy with a previous rhinoplasty? You don’t have to live with it. Call Dr. Kearney at (858) 677-9352 and set up a consultation for revision surgery.
