Open or closed rhinoplasty?

Written by Escobar MD     

At the moment performing a rhinoplasty, there are two main types of techniques: the open and the closed rhinoplasty.

The open technique consists of making an incision on the skin of the area that separates the nostrils (columella), combined with other incisions on the inside of the nose. This way we can easily access the internal structures of the nose. 

The surgeon is the one who most benefits from this technique, because they can easily perform the necessary changes on the nose. Although the patient suffers more swelling, more recovery time, and can be left with a visible scar; without forgetting that the technique has less precision at the time of evaluating the changes that are being performed during the surgery.

On the other hand, the closed or endonasal technique avoids this external incision on the skin and only uses internal incisions to gain access to the structures susceptible to change. The one who most benefits from this technique is the patient, who avoids a scar that can be noticeable on occasions, and who will also have a faster recovery with less swelling.

This last technique, in expert hands, is the one that offers the best global results, and is the one that I recommend and perform.