A Brief History of Rhinoplasty

Are you dissatisfied with the appearance of your nose, you may be considering a rhinoplasty, less elegantly known as a nose job.

But if you think getting a nose job is new to the 20th century, you’d be mistaken.

The history of rhinoplasty dates all the way back to ancient Egypt. Of course, the procedure looks a lot different now.

What Exactly Is Rhinoplasty?

If you’re shopping around for a rhinoplasty, you may not be aware that there are closed and open rhinoplasty procedures.

Whether you’re getting closed or open rhinoplasty, the surgeon will lift the skin of the nose, alter the bone and cartilage, then lay the skin back down. That’s the basics of rhinoplasty 101. Of course, it’s much more complicated than that. And the ways the surgeon customizes each rhinoplasty is its own art form.

The only thing you really need to know is that with a rhinoplasty, there are just two ways for the surgeon to access the structure of the nose. There is the closed version and the open version.

With closed rhinoplasty, the surgeon makes two incisions inside the nose and makes the alterations through these incisions.

An open rhinoplasty utilizes the same two incisions. But then there’s a third incision that connects them. It goes across the columella (the skin between the two nostrils) and is known as a trans-columellar incision. It is this third incision that opens up and unveils what’s happening in the nose.

Which procedure utilized will depend on what the surgeon is attempting.

A Short History of Rhinoplasty

The first medical text that detailed techniques for fixing a broken nose was in the Edwin Smith Papyrus. The text originates from 3000 to 2500 BC. The next most important record of nose reconstruction came in 800 BC from Ayurvedic physician, Sushruta, in India. The technique involved using a skin flap from the cheek to restore the nose. These were still being performed in the 5th century BC.

Two medical texts from Roman antiquity have detailed methods of restoring and reconstructing the nose. One of the texts from 14 AD offered guidelines for nose reconstruction. Another physician in the Byzantine Roman court published a 70-volume guide to medical care, which detailed a number of reconstructive surgery options.

16th – 19th Centuries

Rhinoplasty fell out of use during the Middle Ages, but it experienced a rebirth during the Renaissance among Italian surgeons. This wasn’t necessarily a result of increased vanity. It had more to do with a syphilis epidemic.

One of the effects of syphilis involves the decay of soft tissue, which can result in the wasting away of part of the face. To reconstruct noses, surgeons used donor tissue most often from the arm. In 1597, an Italian professor of surgery and anatomy detailed numerous surgical techniques for facial wounds and grafting.

In the 18th century, a British surgeon developed a technique for rebuilding the nose using cartilage from the patient’s ear. And by the 19th century, a German surgeon had developed a technique that involved making an incision inside the nose. This is still used in today’s rhinoplasty.

20th Century and Beyond

By the early 1900s, deviated septum correction had improved considerably. And reconstructive surgery experienced a notable surge after WWI and WWII when veterans returned from the battlefield. Surgeons at this time were working on open rhinoplasty techniques that involved a specific kind of incision that improved the degree of control the surgeon had over the various nasal structures.

Today, rhinoplasty is one of the most popular cosmetic surgery procedures. Improved techniques and technology make the procedure safe and effective when performed by a skilled board-certified plastic surgeon.

Is Rhinoplasty in Your Future?

If you’re ready to explore your rhinoplasty options, contact us today.

We’ll sit down with you during your free consultation and discuss the benefits of closed and open rhinoplasty procedures for your specific situation.

Rest assured, you’ll get the one that’s right for you.