Nasal Reconstruction
What is nasal reconstruction?
Treatment of cancers of the nose can leave defects that affect both function and cosmesis.
In nasal reconstruction, I use plastic surgery fundamentals and related skills such as those from rhinoplasty/nose job to rebuild a nose that is both functional and looks as normal as possible.
What does nasal reconstruction involve?
The extent of the reconstructruction depends on several factors including:
- What is missing, could be either skin, cartilage or bone.
- What is available as a replacement
- The size of the defect
- Your wishes
Depending on these factors your reconstruction can be a local anaesthetic day case or require general anaesthetic in several stages.
What techniques are used in nasal reconstruction?
I favour using local flaps or local tissue rearrangements as these provide the best match in terms of colour and texture to nose skin.
The most commonly used are forehead flap and nasolabial flap.
If we need to rebuild structure to your nose then cartilage from your ear or nose septum can be used depending on the extent of what’s needed.
What is forehead flap?
A forehead flap is use of forehead skin to replace nose skin.
This is my preferred method of reconstruction.
Forehead skin provides the best match to nose skin and as such the results are usually superior to other techniques.
However, it is performed under general anaesthetic, requires a 2 day stay in hospital, will be unsightly for 3 weeks and requires at least 2 operations to complete.
The wound on the forehead might require dressings over about 3 weeks to heal but this usually heals beautifully.
It therefore requires a lot of patience and a degree of trust in the process but compared to all other reconstructions, most people will be glad they had a forehead flap.
What other options are there in nasal reconstruction?
I favour using local flaps or local tissue rearrangements as these provide the best match in terms of colour and texture to nose skin.
Other local flaps can be harvested from the cheeks, the nose itself and the frown lines.
Skin grafts can also be used where appropriate.
How can I access nose reconstruction in Manchester?
You can ask your dermatologist or plastic surgeon for referral to me at The Christie.
Alternatively, you can use the Contact Us links on this website.
You can also contact my secretary Ms. Julie Tyson:
Tel: 0161 446 7455
Email: [email protected]