Rhinoplasty Reasons

Medical Reasons for Nose Correction

Medical reasons for having a nose job are health-related reasons to have a Rhinoplasty or Septoplasty and therefore, are usually reimbursed by insurance. Before you consult a plastic surgeon for a Rhinoplasty, you need to call your insurance company and ask them under what circumstances they will reimburse you for a septoplasty or in some cases, a rhinoplasty. If you broke your nose in an accident, your insurance company will usually pay for a rhinoplasty. If you have difficulties breathing, particularly at night, because you have a deviated septum, your insurance company will usually want to get a medical opinion from a board certified ENT (Ear, Nose, & Throat) doctor also called an Otolaryngologist. All ENT’s are taught to repair deviated septum’s but not all of them can do a Rhinoplasty which most oftentimes involves breaking or filing down the nasal bone (see picture).

The ideal doctor to visit if you have a medical reason to have a rhinoplasty is someone double board certified in Otolaryngology and Plastic Surgery. These doctors are rare but we can recommend some. There are some significant financial reasons why you need to talk to your insurance company first before you visit a specialist and then, there are some potential savings if you select a double board certified doctor. If a doctor knows that he will be able to have part of the septoplasty paid by an insurance company, there’s a possibility that he/she might lower the price on the rhinoplasty or the alarplasty (nose tip surgery) if you also need to trim the tip of the nose. To summarize:

• Call your insurance company before you visit a plastic surgeon
• Ask them what they cover (Rhinoplasty, Septoplasty, Alarpalsty)

• Have them break down the reimbursement by 1) surgeon’s fees, 2) anestheology, and 3) OR (operating room) expenses
• If you have coverage, ask them what kind of specialist they will allow you to visit so that they accept the diagnosis

Rhinoplasty with Chin Implant

If the medical reason for your nose correction involves the bone (rhinoplasty) you must either visit a board certified plastic surgeon or a board certified facial plastic surgeon (an otolaryngologist with an additional 2 years  spent specializing in facial plastic surgery) or a double board certified plastic surgeon/otolaryngologist. The reason is often the chin. The nose, especially on the profile view, is balanced by the chin. If you change the shape of your nose by making it smaller, you might also have to change the size of your chin because the two work in tandem; this is especially true if you are a man, because manliness is often implied by the size of a chin. With women, chin implants are rarer unless they were born with a very weak chin which is not balanced with their current nose. Below are examples of weak chins that need correction:

Note that the woman below did not have a rhinoplasty, she just had her chin corrected (and her ears pinned back) which balanced off her nose. Oftentimes, patients will visit plastic surgeons complaining that their nose is too big when in fact it’s the chin that’s too weak. To see if this is your case, upload a picture to our site's before & after simulation program and see for yourself if your chin needs to be enlarged on reduced to match your nose.