Breathing Easy With a Functional Rhinoplasty
For many people, a rhinoplasty is a purely cosmetic decision. Being happy with how you look is certainly an important goal.
The need for rhinoplasty can be much more urgent. Crooked, bulbous, or unsymmetrical noses can create health concerns, such as breathing problems or sleep apnea. Or even a condition that results in frequent or chronic sinus infections.
Thankfully, functional rhinoplasty can help resolve various health problems, and there are many types of nose surgery for breathing problems.
Functional Versus Aesthetic Rhinoplasties
It’s essential first to understand the difference between functional and aesthetic rhinoplasty.
In many ways, the difference is mostly in the purpose. Functional rhinoplasty is to clear your airways, involving adjustments to your nasal passages themselves and the cartilage within your nose. Aesthetic rhinoplasty is about improving symmetry and cosmetic appearance. It can include adjustments of bone and cartilage, as well as the outer tissue.
Cosmetic rhinoplasties can narrow the nose, adjust the nostrils’ position, adjust the nose’s angle, or smooth out irregularities.
Nose Job for Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a potentially serious sleep disorder where irregular breathing during sleep leads one to feel exhausted during the day.
One of the most common causes of sleep apnea is obstructed sleep apnea. Functional rhinoplasty can allow a surgeon to permanently clear the nasal passage, reducing the effects of sleep apnea or prevent sinus conditions from developing into sleep apnea.
Rhinoplasty for Deviated Septum
A“deviated septum” refers to the condition where your nasal septum, the piece of cartilage between your nostrils, blocks off airflow.
A deviated septum can create severe sinus problems if left unchecked. Thankfully a functional rhinoplasty can help straighten the septum and let you breathe easier. This specific kind of surgery is known as a Septoplasty.
Asymmetrical Nose Surgery or Rhinoplasty
Sometimes a deviated septum is only a symptom, however. In many cases, the entire nose can be crooked, caused by a genetic defect at birth or trauma. It can also lead to a host of breathing problems, as the nostrils are not providing air properly. A functional rhinoplasty can help alleviate these health problems while also bringing some pleasing symmetry to your nose.
Dorsal Hump Removal or Nose Hump Surgery
A dorsal hump is an irregularity in the nasal bridge. Rhinoplasty surgery can include nose reshaping to minimize the nasal bone.
While hump reduction on the nose bridge can help with aesthetics, this irregularity doesn’t affect breathing all too much, and a functional rhinoplasty is not required. However, these sorts of irregularities are often resolved through aesthetic rhinoplasty to give a more cosmetically appealing silhouette to the nose.
Nose hump surgery can help smooth out imperfections and create a more aesthetic profile to your nose.
Aesthetic and Functional, Together with Facial Plastic Surgery
Dr. Rival is an Otolaryngologist Head and Neck Facial Plastic Surgeon and trusted by hundreds of his patients to deliver beautiful and natural results.
As you can see, functional and aesthetic rhinoplasties both serve their purposes in improving the function and form of your nose.
There’s a lot to consider when deciding what kind of rhinoplasty can help with your breathing issues. We’re always happy to help with that – contact us with any questions you have today. Or to book an in-person or virtual consultation with a rhinoplasty surgeon!