Open Rhinoplasty Technique

The open approach to rhinoplasty has risks you can ask about. A complication rate for it has to come from your surgeon, and the questions below are how to get one.

Why open, and not closed, for your nose

Ask the surgeon why they propose the open approach for your nose and what they expect it to let them do. Ask also what they would do differently with a closed approach. The answers should refer to your anatomy, not to a general preference.

How many open cases, how many complications, over how long

Ask how many open rhinoplasties the surgeon has done and how often complications followed. Then ask for the follow-up period behind that rate. Ask whether problems that appear after that period would be counted.

Reading a study before you rely on it

Apply one test to anything you read: how many patients were studied, who they were, how they were compared, and how long they were followed.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of open versus closed rhinoplasty outcomes is published in a medical archive and is one place to try that test.

Individual factors to raise

Your own history may raise or lower your risk. Tell the surgeon about earlier nose surgery, breathing problems, and anything that affects healing. Ask which of these they would weigh most.

Cost is a separate question from risk, and both deserve a clear answer. A plastic surgery society's rhinoplasty cost page covers the cost side of the same surgery.

Three answers before you book an open rhinoplasty

Decide on open rhinoplasty only after you have the surgeon's reasons, their own complication numbers, and the follow-up behind them. If any of the three is missing, ask for it before you book. The Rhinoplasty Guide for Patients lists the other approaches.

Your own nose needs a surgeon's examination, and nothing about the open approach above is medical advice.