Rhinoplasty FAQ with Dr. Ross Clevens

Ross A. Clevens, MD, FACS,
Clevens Face and Body Specialists

Locations in:
Melbourne ~ Merritt Island

Rhinoplasty or plastic surgery of the nose (nose job) is one of the most commonly performed procedures in facial plastic surgery. The term "rhinoplasty" blends the words "rhino" (nose) with "plasty" (to mold or to shape). Though Dr. Clevens' main office is located in Central Florida, his attention to detail and dedication to aesthetics brings patients from all over Florida and the United States.

Dr. Clevens completed his training at Yale University, Harvard Medical School and The University of Michigan. He is the Director and Founder of Clevens Face and Body Specialists and leads a talented team providing Plastic Surgery, reconstructive options for skin cancer care and non-surgical cosmetic and laser rejuvenation treatments.

Dr. Clevens specializes in facial surgical procedures including: Facelift, Blepharoplasty, Rhinoplasty and Revision and has pioneered the Weekend Facelift™.

Let’s talk a little bit about rhinoplasty. Rhinoplasty or septorhinoplasty is the medical term for a nose job. There are really two parts to a nose job. One part involves the internal nose. This is the aspect of the surgery, the septoplasty and the turbinate reduction, where we straighten the septum, improve the airway, and give you better breathing, better airway, better sinus function, better nasal function. You wouldn’t want to have cosmetic surgery on the nose and end up with a nose where your breathing isn’t good, so we almost always perform a septoplasty and a turbinate reduction to improve your breathing and improve your airway and improve your sinus function as part of the nose job or the rhinoplasty.

The rhinoplasty is the portion of surgery that addresses the external appearance of your nose. It changes the way your nose looks. There’s lots that we can do in a rhinoplasty. We can take down the bridge or the hump. We can narrow the tip. We can elevate the tip if it’s droopy. There’s all sorts of things that we can do to improve the appearance of your nose. We find that many patients will bring photographs of noses that they like. They’ll clip photographs from magazines or they might bring in photographs of friends. That helps us figure out what they’re looking for in their rhinoplasty result. We also find that many patients will bring photos of their noses, selfies, views of their nose that they don’t like, so they can show us a picture and say, “Gee whiz! I don’t like it from this angle and I don’t like this,” and then we’re able to use that information to plan the rhinoplasty, to plan the nose job, to help achieve the result that the patient wants. We also employ computerized video imagery where we take a digital image of you and then, we can modify it on the computer with you, with you watching, so we can sculpt and create a nose that has a shape that you’re pleased with. So that way when we go into surgery to perform your rhinoplasty, I have with me photographs of noses that you like, perhaps photographs of your nose indicating what you don’t like, as well as the computerized preview imaging that is the modification of your present nose into the look that you want. So with all of this information and this counseling and relationship with the patient before surgery, we’re able to help achieve the result that you want from your rhinoplasty, both better breathing and also a nice improvement in terms of the external appearance of your nose so it looks like the nose you want it to look like.