Predicting the Results of Rhinoplasty Before Surgery: Easy Noses Versus Difficult Noses

Abstract

A major problem for many rhinoplastic surgeons is the ability to predict, before surgery, the difficulty of the procedure (whether the rhinoplasties will be technically easy or technically difficult to perform) and the success rate of the result (whether the rhinoplasty will likely give good results or poor ones). The present paper outlines a systematic approach to nasal analysis, allowing the surgeon to consistently estimate, before surgery, the degree of technical difficulty of each rhinoplasty, as well as predicting its future result in terms of patient satisfaction. This preoperative evaluation is based on the analysis of the skin texture and the osteocartilagenous framework on lateral and frontal views. It allows for the nose to be classified as green (easy), yellow (moderate) or red (difficult), depending on two factors: The degree of surgical difficulty and the expected patient's satisfaction with the result. The essence of the present paper is to introduce a simple, systematic approach to assist the novice rhinoplastic surgeon to assess the complexity, the risks and the expected outcome of a rhinoplasty in the preoperative period, rather than postoperatively.