There are many key differences between a first time rhinoplasty and a revision rhinoplasty. In this video, Dr. Shah explains the key differences between a first time rhinoplasty and a revision, detailing how he takes a different surgical approach for each.
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This video has been transcribed using an automated service. Please forgive any typographic errors or other transcription flaws.
Dr. Shah:
So patients ask how is a first time rhinoplasty, also known as a primary rhinoplasty, different than a revision rhinoplasty, also known as a redo rhinoplasty? So they’re different in lots of ways. When someone has never had a procedure done on their nose before, everything is new and they may not know all of the right questions to ask. So it’s my job, I try to kind of guide them through this process, show them some different possible outcomes, really let them know as much information as possible so that they can make a really educated guess that they won’t go into the next category, which is their redo rhinoplasty.
For a lot of redo rhinoplasty patients, they may have felt with their previous surgeon they weren’t able to communicate properly, they weren’t able to deliver the results they wanted. and so that might be one of those things that when I’m communicating with them, I want to make sure that their viewpoint is really heard. And even with all of these things, communication is still important. And some patients just communicate with you better than others. Sometimes you can just talk to someone and they understand it. You’re in that same frequency. And that’s just true of humans in nature. And sometimes with some patients they don’t have that at great frequency. And if I don’t have that frequency with someone, or they don’t feel like their viewpoints being, kind of aligned with mine. That’s okay. We know that we’re not good partners together, and then we kind of move on and say, that’s great. I wasn’t the right fit for them. And if we are in alignment, that’s awesome too.
Then I’ll talk about the different things that we do. When you’re talking about the technical aspects of primary rhinoplasty, versus revision rhinoplasty in a primary rhinoplasty, when I’m opening up for noses, they haven’t been altered. And I think in this, almost like if you were to get, like, a suit tailored. The first time you get your suit tailored you might just have to hem a sleeve or bring things back. And there’s definitely alterations. But no one’s ever been there before, and you’re going to fit it for the person. And depending on how much of an alteration, it could be a bigger change or lesser change. But that’s like a primary rhinoplasty. When I think of revision rhinoplasty, someone’s already tried to alter the suit. They may have brought the sleeve down too much, So you may need to bring the sleeve down more. That’s like the graft. It might be a stain on the suit. You might have to cut out fabric. You may have to add fabric. And that’s like a revision rhinoplasty. Someone’s been there and you’re trying to fix what has been there before. So that can be a little bit more challenging. You’re trying to get this fabric to match. So when you go in there, primary revision, it’s someone who’s never, who doesn’t know what to expect versus someone who’s tried something in the past and wasn’t successful. Different mindsets and different levels of technical expertise.