One of the greatest fears of many patients who are
considering rhinoplasty surgery is that their nose will be
packed during surgery, subsequently requiring removal
sometime after surgery.
That thought is one of significant uncomfortability at best
and outright pain at the worst. I have found that many
potential rhinoplasty patients often ask....are you going
to pack my nose? After hearing this concern numeruos times
over the years, I have come to appreciate a patient's
apprehensions over the issue of packing in the nose after
rhinoplasty surgery.
The good news is that the need for packing a rhinoplasty
surgery patient is very infrequent. If you are having a
cosmetic rhinoplasty, where only the external nose is being
operated on (hence the concept of a cosmetic rhinoplasty),
then there is absolutely no reason to have to pack the nose
after surgery. If you having a 'rhinoplasty' for breathing
purposes only, otherwise known as functional nasal airway
surgery or septoplasty and/or turbinate surgery, then the
need for nasal packing exists but it is still in my
practice a very low likelihood.
The purpose of nasal packing is two-fold; 1) to control or
stop bleeding and 2) to help adapt the lining of the nose
back in its place against the cartilage or bone so no
bleeding occurs underneath it. Whe performing septal
straightening, a very important component of airway
surgery, you must first lift the lining off of both sides
before straightening it. Once straightened, the lining must
be put back in its original place. Historically, packing
the nose with gauze squeezed this lining back in place. The
use of packing has been replaced by many surgeons with
sewing it back into place through a sewing technique known
as quilting. This has virtually replaced the need for
packing, much to the applause of patients and plastic
surgeons alike. Only in cases where there is too much
bleeding at the end of surgery will packing be used to
control it, much like the way it is used to stop difficult
nose bleeds.
So to those patients considering most forms of rhinoplasty
surgery, this is one issue that you need not overly concern
yourself with! Modern rhinoplasty techniques have virtually
eliminated the need for this uncomfortable consideration.
Not only is the concern about pain associated with packing
removal eliminated, but the fear of not being able to
breathe through your nose at all ( a claustrophobic
sensation) right after surgery is also alleviated.
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Dr Barry Eppley runs a private plastic surgery practice
through his hospital-based medspa locations at Clarian
Health in Indianapolis. To learn more about the latest
trends in plastic surgery, spa therapies, or skin care, go
to his daily blog, http://www.exploreplasticsurgery.com .
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