When you think about nose surgery you naturally think about cosmetic surgery aimed at giving you that ideal little snub or celestial nose or the feature of your favorite celebrity. But in many cases, nose surgery or rhinoplasty is a medical procedure performed to alleviate some medical condition or for reconstruction after trauma or even to correct some birth deformity.
Nose surgery has been performed for centuries. Ebers Papyrus (dating to ca 1550 BC) an ancient Egyptian medical treatise, describes a form of nose surgery or rhinoplasty that was used to reconstruct a nose removed by rhinectomy. A more elaborate account of rhinoplasty in ancient times has been described in Hindu texts, where doctors applied their knowledge of Ayurveda in surgical techniques to reconstruct damaged nose, earlobes, and other body parts that were mutilated as punishments. The credit to ancient rhinoplasty goes to the Ayurvedic physician Sushruta (800 BC.) who documented a rhinoplasty in his ‘Sushruta samhita’. There rhinoplasty was termed as Nasikasadhana. This Indian free-flap graft technique was rediscovered by Western Science during the Third Anglo-Mysore wars (1789-1792). East India Company doctors witnessed the rhinoplasty being practiced according to ancient techniques at the British residency in Poona.
Rhinoplasty is a necessary surgical procedure for those who suffer from the following:
- Cleft lip or cleft palate
- Nasal deformities from birth
- Genetically derived ethnic nose abnormalities.
A rhinoplasty may also be considered if the patient suffers from some acquired diseases like allergic rhinitis, autoimmune disease etc. If the patient has sleep apnea or has episodes of loud snoring, the doctor might prescribe rhinoplasty as a method to control the same. Snoring is a condition rampant in the US. About 30% of the population suffers from it. Snoring is uncomfortable and embarrassing. The various strips, medications and clips available in the market are not very effective means of controlling snoring.
Snoring is caused by nasal blockages and the vibration of the uvula and soft palate. Nasal blockages may be caused by allergic rhinitis or a deviated septum. Snoring may be a symptom for a more severe medical condition called Sleep Apnea. Sleep Apnea is a condition where the patient often stops breathing for extended periods of time. The patient may later go on to develop high blood pressure, heart disease or suffer from stroke and other fatal conditions. To prevent these events a patient who suffers from regular bouts of snoring and sleep apnea might consider nose surgery. Los Angeles residents can avail world class facilities from the ENT surgeons and doctors specializing in rhinoplasty.
