Preservation Rhinoplasty: The Natural-Looking Nose Job Everyone Is Talking About

You’ve always liked your nose well enough: It fits your face and is a major part of what makes you look like yourself. Still, if you could make a few minor improvements, you would — you just don’t think the subtle shape changes you’re seeking are worth the intensive cosmetic procedure (and a lengthy recovery) you’d have to endure to get them.    

What if we told you that subtle cosmetic nose reshaping is within easy reach, and it doesn’t require a rigorous plastic surgery operation and an extended healing process? 

With preservation rhinoplasty, you can realize understated nose shape changes with far less nasal tissue disruption and downtime. Here, Dr. Michael R. Nichols of Oral & Facial Surgery of Mississippi explains why it’s the natural-looking “nose job” everyone’s talking about.      

Conventional rhinoplasty explained

Rhinoplasty — also known as cosmetic nose reshaping or a “nose job” — is one of the most requested facial plastic surgeries in the United States. Every year, about 47,000 Americans use the procedure to refine the appearance of their nose, improve its function, or both.  

Done with the aid of general anesthesia, rhinoplasty begins with one small incision along the base on your nose, which won’t leave a perceptible scar after your skin heals. 

This single exterior incision is connected to a series of hidden interior incisions that allow Dr. Nichols to access your bone and cartilage structures. Depending on your goals, he may:

• Carefully remove excess bone or cartilage as needed
• Add cartilage grafts to change the shape of your nose 
• Straighten a deviated septum to improve breathing
• Correct a prominent bump or dip on the nasal bridge
• Reshape an atypical nose tip or asymmetrical nostrils

Once the internal structures of your nose are formed to the desired size and shape, Dr. Nichols gently re-drapes the nasal skin and closes the incisions. 

The recovery timeline for conventional rhinoplasty includes a few weeks of initial swelling, followed by intermittent swelling and contraction for up to a year post-surgery. Swelling in the tip of the nose typically takes the longest to resolve. 

How preservation rhinoplasty differs

Conventional rhinoplasty reshapes your nose by removing and restructuring your nasal bone and cartilage; preservation rhinoplasty, on the other hand, achieves subtle nose reshaping results by carefully repositioning your existing nasal structures. 

This conservative rhinoplasty technique removes as little bone and cartilage as feasible, maintaining much of your nose’s original anatomy while subtly modifying and refining its shape. Preservation rhinoplasty can give you: 

A smoothed bridge 

Preservation rhinoplasty uses specialized “push down” and “let down” techniques to reduce the height of the dorsal bridge from below and smooth out a prominent bump. It leaves the dorsal line contours along each side of your nose as they are for a more natural appearance.

A refined nose tip 

If desired, preservation rhinoplasty can also refine the tip of your nose in a less invasive way. Instead of removing cartilage, this conservative technique simply reshapes existing cartilage and repositions it with stitches.  

Improved breathing

Preservation rhinoplasty can also correct a deviated septum (and a crooked nasal bridge) to make your nose more functional and help you breathe better. Instead of completely reconstructing these functional nasal structures, the preservation method simply modifies them with less intensive techniques. 

Benefits of preservation rhinoplasty

Preservation rhinoplasty conserves most of the existing structure of your nose while making improvements to its overall aesthetic appeal. Besides leaving you with a natural-looking, subtly refined nose that suits your face, this approach has several advantages:

• Conserves the natural structure and function of your nose
• Reduces bumps or humps while keeping the bridge of your nose intact
• Doesn’t interfere with soft tissues or disrupt blood supply
• Causes less swelling and bruising than conventional rhinoplasty
• Takes less time and requires a shorter post-op recovery  
• Has a lower risk of complications, including scarring and uneven results

Simply put, preservation rhinoplasty is a lot like having a minimally invasive nose job. 

Preservation rhinoplasty candidates

The goal of conventional rhinoplasty is to help you achieve more balanced facial aesthetics through proportional nose reshaping. When done by an experienced board-certified maxillofacial surgeon like Dr. Nichols, this procedure can deliver natural-looking results. 

In some cases, standard rhinoplasty may provide more satisfying results — including if you have a significant hump on the bridge of your nose or if your nose requires extensive reshaping to meet your cosmetic goals.   

But if you’re looking for subtle improvements to your nose — and you aren’t interested in drastically altering its shape or size — preservation rhinoplasty can get the job done. 

Have questions about preservation rhinoplasty? We have answers. Call 601-420-3223 to schedule a consultation at Oral & Facial Surgery of Mississippi in Flowood, Mississippi, today.