Rhinoplasty Surgery in Vancouver, BC

Good candidates are individuals looking to make minor aesthetic changes to their nose without surgery. Non-surgical rhinoplasty is ideal for those who want temporary results or are not ready for permanent surgical changes. However, it’s not suitable for individuals who need major structural changes or corrections to breathing issues.

While Rhinoplasty is a very popular cosmetic surgery, not everyone is a candidate for Rhinoplasty. The most important part of the process in deciding your candidacy is your complimentary pre-consultation with a Patient Care Manager. They will discuss your Rhinoplasty goals and offer a photo review to determine if this surgery is the right option for you. After this pre-consultation is complete, and you and your Patient Care Manager have decided that Rhinoplasty could be right for you, they will then book an in-person (or virtual) consultation with Dr. Buonassisi. To determine if you are a candidate for Rhinoplasty, our Patient Care Managers are available to help discuss the surgery in more detail and conduct a photo review. You can contact them on (604) 733-1669 or complete our booking form online to request a call back.

While there are a number of different techniques when it comes to Rhinoplasty, when reshaping or changing the nose, the work is primarily done to the cartilage and bone that form the structure of your nose. Dr. Buonassisi performs both open and closed Rhinoplasty, ensuring that any scarring is minimal to imperceptible. Open Rhinoplasty is performed at the base of the nose, where a small incision is made across the columella – the area between your nostrils. After the incision is made, the skin is very gently raised to expose nasal bones and cartilage so that the required changes can be made. The incision is then strategically sealed using sutures to ensure that any scarring is minimal, and disguised in natural creases of the nose. Unlike open Rhinoplasty, closed Rhinoplasty is less-commonly performed by Dr. Buonassisi, and is a surgery performed inside the nose, through small incisions in the nostrils. This is where Dr. Buonassisi will carefully and skilfully craft the bone and cartilage to achieve the desired result. Which technique is used, and how Dr. Buonassisi will perform the surgery (open or closed) is dependant on a number of unique factors, and will be discussed in detail upon your consultation with him. Whichever method is used will be chosen because it will be the ideal way to achieve your goals.

Very common questions that people ask are “how long is the downtime?” or “how long is the healing process?”. Most patients are then surprised by the answer, as recovery from rhinoplasty is easier than they expect. Most patients will take 1-2 weeks off work or school, and are able to work or study from home in the early days of recovery. Your cast is removed 1 week after surgery, but be prepared to still see bruising and swelling on cast removal day – the exciting part though is that you will get the first glimpse of your new nose. During the second week, you can expect most of the bruising to dissipate, but it always varies from patient to patient. It is also important to keep in mind that it will take a year for everything to heal and set for you to see your final result. All of this and more (including an overview of what to expect day-by-day after surgery) are covered in your free pre-consultation discussion with a Patient Care Manager.

You may have a dissolvable stitch poking out. This is not dangerous but can be irritating. Internal rhinoplasty stitches are often used inside your nose during surgery. They dissolve roughly 10 days later – but sometimes not uniformly – meaning one might hang around a little longer and start to irritate you. You could notice a stitch up to 6 months after surgery. No, your surgeon did not forget that stitch in there by accident. If your stitch is bugging you, please call your surgeon’s office and let them know. They should schedule you an appointment to have the suture trimmed. In the meantime, please do not pick or tug at it, as this may irritate you nose or cause an infection.

Experienced rhinoplasty surgeons will often over rotate the tip on purpose since they plan for it to fall to it’s intended position in the post operative healing period. They expect that swelling will make it look higher than it will actually be once healed. This planned over rotation should last about 3 – 4 weeks, or a little longer in some patients. So, if you are early on in your recovery period, please don’t be concerned. This is one of the side effects of swelling that will resolve itself over time.