Does Rhinoplasty Surgery Affect Thick Skin?

Does Rhinoplasty Surgery Affect Thick Skin?

The surgical reshaping of the cartilage and bone to get the ideal nose you’ve always desired is known as rhinoplasty. But many people are unaware that the thickness of your skin is another important physical aspect of nose surgery.
People with ancestry from Africa or Eastern Europe are more likely to have thicker skin. Male skin is often thicker than female skin. Age, genetics, and excessive sun exposure can all contribute to thin skin. Skin thinning may result from some drugs.
How will your skin’s health affect your new nose and the results of your treatment if you have thicker or very thin skin?

How Your Rhinoplasy Surgery Is Affected By Skin Thickness

Your skin’s thickness may influence the surgical technique used and the final result. Both thin and thick skin around the nose have advantages and disadvantages. A qualified surgeon, Dr William Portuese, will take the time to measure the thickness of your skin so that he can prepare for your treatment in the best way possible.

Consequences of thin skin

The adjustments the surgeon has made to your bone and cartilage will be more clearly seen with thin skin. However, there is a drawback in that thin skin will more obviously show surgical abnormalities. The surgeon must exercise extreme caution when the skin is exceedingly thin.

The surgeon faces two challenges: producing a symmetrical nasal tip and a smooth nasal bridge. A grafting method like the temporalis fascia technique may be used by the surgeon. It has been demonstrated that this gives patients with paper-thin skin satisfactory results. During the procedure, tissue from the temporalis muscle is taken and used to make a nose that is the same on both sides.

The consequences of thick skin

Although thicker skin may conceal asymmetries or surgical issues, it may also mask changes to the nose. Patients with thicker skin occasionally have wider nasal tips and bigger nostril rims. These characteristics make it more difficult to modify the nasal tip.
The surgeon can make sure that your nose will have the shape you’ve always desired. To get an acceptable result, the surgeon may decide to highlight and exaggerate the cartilage of the nose tip. To improve the finished appearance, the skin can also be thinned and stretched.

Recovery from rhinoplasty of the thick skin

Recovery from thick skin rhinoplasty typically takes longer. Thick-skinned nose surgery patients frequently require one to two years for the tip to fully heal, whereas thin-skinned rhinoplasty patients typically take from six months to a year.
Although every patient and recovery process are unique, many patients with thicker skin who have rhinoplasty endure more swelling and for a longer length of time. Your surgeon might give you a steroid shot to speed up the healing process if the swelling doesn’t go down.
The good news is that thick skin rhinoplasty is no longer painful, and your pain medication as prescribed should make it bearable. The initial healing progress markers are the same. The patient having a thick skin rhinoplasty can go back to work in about two weeks, and any stents will be taken out in the first week.

Rhinoplasty nose jobs

For both thick-skinned and thin-skinned rhinoplasties, a qualified surgeon is needed who knows how to give their patient a smooth, symmetrical nose and knows the pros and cons of each skin type.

Examine the before-and-after photo galleries on a surgeon’s website before hiring them. Inquire about examples of work done on individuals who had thick skin or extremely thin skin. Make sure your surgeon only performs plastic surgery on the face and neck and is board-certified in otolaryngology—head and neck surgery. Your surgeon should use an approved hospital or surgical center.


    Schedule a Consultation Today

    The Seattle Rhinoplasty Center

    Seattle Nose Surgeon ®
    William Portuese MD
    Joseph Shvidler MD

    Seattle, Washington 98104

    (206) 624-6200

    Schedule an Appointment