One of the most difficult aspects of the aging process is reconciling with significant changes to the tone and texture of your once-youthful skin. While a high-quality moisturizer, retinol serums, and sunscreen can help ward off wrinkles and skin laxity, there comes a time when preventive measures simply aren’t enough to turn back the clock.
If fine lines, wrinkles, and saggy skin are diminishing your self-esteem and making you look older than you feel, you’re in good company. Many men and women start noticing the early signs of aging in their 30s and 40s, when skin naturally starts losing essential collagen and elastin.
Fortunately, double board-certified facial plastic surgeon Dr. Philip J. Miller has the right procedure for you at his state-of-the-art plastic surgery clinic in Manhattan, New York. As a renowned plastic surgeon who has regularly graced the Best Doctors in America list since 2007, Dr. Miller understands the complexities of rejuvenating aging skin.
That’s why he developed the Miller Lift®, a proprietary liquid facelift that utilizes a combination of injectables and minimally invasive treatments to rival the results of a surgical facelift with minimal downtime.
Ready for Rejuvenation?
Young adults enjoy firm, supple skin thanks to their abundance of collagen and elastin. These essential proteins help build the body’s connective tissues, which keeps the skin firm and elastic. Around age 30, your collagen and elastin production start to slow. This, on its own, creates significant changes in the elasticity of your skin — but it isn’t the only factor.
Along with collagen and elastin loss, your 30s are typically when you start to notice the effects of sun damage, poor sleep quality, smoking, and other lifestyle and environmental factors that can accelerate aging skin.
Early signs of aging skin include:
Fine lines
Wrinkles
Mild facial creases
Skin laxity around the jowls
Hyperpigmentation
Brown spots
Dull skin
Flat cheeks
When you start to age, the fat tissue that once sat firmly in your midface begins to sag. At this point, your jawline and cheekbones may look less sculpted and defined.
Injectables Offer Fast Relief
Surgery isn’t your only option for rejuvenating aging skin. Injectables are a quick, safe, and effective solution to minimize wrinkles and add volume in areas lacking fullness. With little-to-no downtime, injectables deliver results in a matter of days, rather than months, so you can enjoy your fresh, youthful appearance right away.
As a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon with more than 20 years of experience, Dr. Miller knows how to sculpt and contour the face using injectables, such as neuromodulators and dermal fillers. That’s why the Miller Lift can produce superior anti-aging results without anesthesia, incisions or downtime.
Multiple Options Available at Our Plastic Surgery Clinic
To understand how the Miller Lift works, it’s important to know the difference between neuromodulators, dermal fillers, and collagen stimulators.
Neuromodulators
like Botox® Cosmetic, Dysport®, and Xeomin® prevent and reduce the appearance of wrinkles by temporarily paralyzing the muscles that control them. Facial lines caused by expression, like crow’s feet and forehead lines, respond well to neuromodulators. In most cases, results last for at least 3-6 months.
Dermal Fillers
Dermal fillers, including Restylane® and Juvéderm®, are formulated as gel-like substances that restore lost volume. They fill in deep creases and static wrinkles, which form from gradual volume loss. Hollow cheeks, saggy jowls, and undereye bags are common treatment areas for dermal fillers, which can last up to 12 months or more.
Collagen Stimulators
Collagen stimulators like Sculptra® are dermal fillers that contain synthetic substances designed to trigger the body to produce more collagen. As the filler gradually fades, it’s replaced by newly made collagen to extend your anti-aging results.
With the Miller Lift, Dr. Miller can also combine your injectables with fat reduction treatments, like Kybella®, an injectable medication that can eliminate submental fat beneath the chin without surgery or liposuction.
The Perfect Combination
non-surgical facelift alternatives in new york
What makes the Miller Lift unique is its customizability. Dr. Miller can address your exact concerns with an individualized combination of injectables. With a fully personalized treatment plan, your results will look as beautiful and natural as possible.
To better address your unique needs, Dr. Miller has developed his proprietary NatraLook® process. He takes your facial structure, features, and treatment goals into consideration before designing your personalized plan.
NatraLook offers a collaborative approach to care that allows you to work with Dr. Miller to develop your custom treatment plan. This way, your results will meet or exceed your expectations.
Maintaining Your Results
Since the Miller Lift combines a variety of injectables to combat the signs of aging, results are temporary. Depending on your unique treatment plan, you can expect injectables to gradually lose their efficacy within 12 months. However, collagen stimulators will continue to generate new collagen and strengthen existing fibers for years to come, particularly with touch-up treatments.
Maintenance is key with injectables. Visiting Dr. Miller for regular touch-up appointments can help maintain your results and prevent new wrinkles from forming. The Miller Lift is entirely nonsurgical and minimally invasive, so you can also combine your treatment with other skin tightening procedures, like laser resurfacing and microneedling.
The Next Step
Eventually, you may want a more substantial, long-term anti-aging solution, like facial plastic surgery. After a comprehensive facial evaluation, Dr. Miller can recommend the best surgical treatment to lift and tighten your skin.
A mini facelift is an effective treatment to combat skin laxity and facial sagging for five years or more, while a traditional full facelift can transform your appearance for up to 10 years. Combining these treatments with a neck lift will no doubt emphasize your results.
To discuss your full range of treatment options with Dr. Miller, contact his plastic surgery clinic today.
There are certain traits that we consider as classically handsome – a square chin, a strong jaw and well-defined cheekbones to name a few. But not all men are blessed with these features, so many are now taking a more proactive approach to achieving their aesthetic goals.
More men are heading to a doctor for help with their appearance. According to an American Society of Plastic Surgeons report, there was a 7% increase in chin augmentation procedures in men from 2000-2020 and a 137% increase in soft tissue filler treatments. A total of 118,614 filler procedures were performed in 2020 alone.
Board-certified facial plastic surgeon, Dr. Philip Miller, offers his Manhattan, New York and NOLA patients his innovative G.I. Jaw® to help enhance the chin and jawline for that classic, chiseled look. With the right combination of procedures, customized to the precise needs and goals of each patient, Dr. Miller produces natural, masculine results for his male clientele.
The Ideal Jawline for Men
A well-defined lower face is a hallmark of a masculine appearance. The aesthetically ideal lower face is often characterized by a square, projected chin and a sharp jawline. People often regard strengthening the jawline as contributing to a man’s sex appeal and overall attractiveness, which can make him more confident.
The Problem with a Recessive Chin – And the Solution
Not all men are born with a prominent chin and even if they are, the chin also tends to recede with age. A receding chin, also referred to as a “weak chin,” makes the chin less pronounced, creating a disproportionate facial profile. Correspondingly, a strong and well-carved chin exudes youth and confidence, by bringing the entire facial contour into balance.
A recessive chin can be addressed both surgically and non-surgically. Dr. Miller performs chin augmentation with custom implants, offering precise enhancements for patients seeking jawline surgery and a more defined lower face. Through this incision, he creates a pocket for the chin implant and fits it around the chin bone. A chin implant will not only correct a recessed chin but improve facial harmony by bringing the chin into better proportion with other features.
For non-surgical chin augmentation, Dr. Miller uses dermal fillers to replenish lost volume and lift. Dr. Miller alters the chin’s shape and definition by strategically injecting filler beneath the skin to change the contour of the chin and/or jawline. The injectables allow him to sculpt a new chin by adding a more manly “squareness” to its shape, enhancing its projection, addressing asymmetry issues, and improving the sagginess in the jawline.
The Problem with a Double Chin – And the Solution
Nobody likes a double chin –whether catching your side profile in a mirror or trying to capture the best selfie angle. And unlike other stubborn pockets of fat on other body areas, a double chin can be harder to camouflage with flattering clothing. Some men would even resort to growing beards to hide their double chins. Also known as submental fullness, this extra fat may not be a byproduct of weight gain and can appear on slender men as well.
Dr. Miller can eliminate a double chin by performing liposuction in the neck. He uses a very small cannula and inserts it under the skin to gently remove excess fatty tissues using a suction technique. Because of volume reduction and tissue tightening, patients gain a more defined jawline with improved chin and neck contours.
When unwanted fullness beneath the chin affects your profile, Kybella for double chin offers a precise way to address the problem. These injections use deoxycholic acid to break down stubborn fat cells, revealing a more sculpted jawline and a sharper chin profile. Dr. Miller will perform a series of treatments to achieve optimal results. Kybella is often a great choice to combine with fillers or implants to achieve the most chiseled jawline. To learn more about Kybella injections to treat double chin, please visit ncbi.gov.
The Problem with Sagging Skin – And the Solution
The neck can show age sooner than other areas of the face and body because of the thinner skin there. Over time, the neck can develop sagging skin and extra fat deposits. Factors that affect how quickly the neck ages might include heredity, gravity, sun damage, and weight fluctuations. Fortunately, there are ways to rejuvenate the neck, often without surgery.
Dr. Miller offersNeck-Tite™ in his Manhattan, New York office as an advanced, minimally-invasive procedure that uses BodyTite™’s patented radiofrequency assisted lipolysis (RFAL) technology to rejuvenate the neck and jowls. The procedure combines radiofrequency energy with aspiration to remove excess fat and tighten and contour the neck area. The result is a firmer, more youthful-looking neck. This is an ideal procedure for those with loose or sagging neck skin, jowls, or what many refer to as a “turkey neck.”
Neck-Tite™ offers patients a less invasive alternative to surgical procedures like the neck lift and facelift. At the same time, it provides greater improvement than liposuction alone, with superior contouring and skin tightening. And since Dr. Miller uses small cannulas, there is little scarring as well as minimal downtime.
When Jawline Surgery is the Best Solution
Jawline surgery for men is a leading choice for those seeking a comprehensive facial or neck rejuvenation, offering results that go beyond what nonsurgical options can achieve.If you are noticing more prominent signs of aging around your chin, jawline, and neck that cannot be addressed with lasers and injectables, you may be a good candidate for a lower facelift or neck lift. Surgery’s more aggressive approach can effectively reconstruct a more youthful contour along your face, jaw, and neck.
Signs that you could benefit from a neck lift include:
Double chin
Jowls
Crepey neck skin
Sagging skin under the chin
Sagging on neck
Horizontal banding around the neck
Soft or diffuse jawline
With surgery, Dr. Miller removes fat from your lower face and neck, as well as redundant skin that is starting to sag. He can also tighten the platysma muscle to make the surgical neck lift a very long-lasting procedure. You can expect your neck to look younger than your non-treated peers for 10 years or more. And typically, patients undergo neck lift surgery in conjunction with a facelift for a comprehensive rejuvenation.
Why Dr. Miller is the Best Plastic Surgeon for Jawline Contouring in NYC
As an expert facial plastic surgeon, Dr. Miller can create custom treatment plans that combine minimally invasive techniques and advanced technology to help patients achieve the best version of themselves. His extraordinary surgical knowledge, depth of experience, and artist’s eye and touch have made him one of the most sought-after facial plastic surgeons in New York. Not only has he written neck lift chapters for medical textbooks, but he also developed the innovative Neck-Tite™ non-surgical neck lift and G.I. Jaw®.
Dr. Miller also utilizes the NatraLook process to ensure his patients undergo an enriching experience in which they achieve natural results that are rewarding in both physical and emotional ways.
Schedule Your Jawline Surgery or Non-Surgical Jaw Contouring Procedure Today
Is your sagging neck betraying your age? Are your jowls causing you to look much older than you feel? A smoother, tighter neck and an accentuated, stronger jawline can shave years off of your appearance and help restore your self-confidence. To learn more about our non-surgical and surgical rejuvenation procedures, please contact Dr. Miller at his Manhattan, New York plastic surgery clinic.
When you look in the mirror, you want to look fresh and alert. Unfortunately, as we age, our skin loses its natural elasticity and the muscles that support our brows and eyelids start to weaken. This can lead to droopy eyelids and wrinkles that make us look older than we are. Blepharoplasty and a brow lift are two facial plastic surgery procedures that can take years off of your appearance by rejuvenating your eyes. But which treatment is right for you?
Double board-certified facial plastic surgeon, Philip J. Miller, MD, FACS, has nearly 30 years of experience in cosmetic surgery. As a pioneer in the field of facial plastic surgery, he understands the unique complexities of blepharoplasty and brow lift procedures. Dr. Miller’s skilled precision and artistic eye make him uniquely qualified to recommend the right procedure for you at his state-of-the-art plastic surgery clinic in Manhattan, NY.
With Dr. Miller’s collaborative Natralook® process, you can take part in designing your own treatment plan to determine which procedure will best help you achieve your desired results.
What You Need to Know about a Brow Lift
A brow lift primarily addresses excess skin on the forehead that droops down toward the eyes. As the skin above the brow sags, it causes the eyelids to slouch downward as well. The skin only loses elasticity with age, so the problem tends to worsen in aging adults. For some, the resulting look can resemble perpetual anger or sadness. Others can experience drooping to the point that their eyesight becomes hindered.
For a more youthful look, Dr. Miller makes a small incision in the hairline and carefully lifts the skin, removing any excess. During this procedure, he also removes portions of weakened muscle near the eyelids. The entire process lifts the brow to smooth forehead lines and minimize sagging over the eyes. To learn more about brow lifts, please click here.
Benefits of a Brow Lift
A brow lift can transform your appearance by softening deep creases and lines while lifting your brow. Other important benefits of a brow lift include that it can:
Remove excess skin from above the brow
Reduce deep forehead lines
Minimize crow’s feet
Lift saggy eyelids
Soften crow’s feet
If you have excess skin partially blocking your vision, a naturally low eyebrow arch, or deep forehead lines, consider an eyebrow lift.
What a Brow Lift Can’t Do
A brow lift cannot remove excess skin from the upper or lower eyelids like a blepharoplasty can. If you have droopy eyelids that stem from loss of elasticity in the eyelids themselves, then a brow lift may not be the appropriate treatment. Brow lifts specifically treat sagging caused by excess skin above the brow.
One way to tell if you need a blepharoplasty over a brow lift is by raising your eyebrows. If the skin continues to sag with no noticeable change, then a brow lift won’t deliver the results you’re looking for.
What you Need to Know about an Eyelid Lift
An eyelid lift, or blepharoplasty, is a surgical procedure to remove excess skin and tissue from your eyelids. Dr. Miller can perform this procedure on your upper lids, lower lids, or both for a fully rejuvenated appearance.
During an eyelid lift, Dr. Miller makes a small incision in the natural eyelid crease and removes any excess tissue. For the best results, he redistributes some of your excess skin, fat, and underlying muscle before tightening your surrounding skin. This technique generates a lifting effect that instantly refreshes your appearance. Since the incision blends in with your natural crease, there’s very minimal visible scarring.
Droopy eyelids can significantly age your appearance and may even impact your vision. While skin laxity is a normal consequence of the aging process, eyelid surgery can make your eyes look younger, fresher, and more alert.
Benefits of an Eyelid Lift
Upper eyelid surgery is an excellent anti-aging procedure for patients with droopy eyelids caused by loss of elasticity. An eyelid lift may be right for you if you suffer from:
Puffy upper eyelids
Impaired vision from saggy upper eyelid skin
Extra skin in the natural eyelid crease
Poor eyelid contours
Forehead discomfort from muscle straining
Skin irritation from chafing eyelid folds
Depending on whether you combine your treatment with a lower eyelid, blepharoplasty typically takes about 1-2 hours. Most patients recover within 7-10 days of treatment.
What an Eyelid Lift Can’t Do
An eyelid lift is ideal for patients who have droopy eyelids with excess fat and tissue. However, blepharoplasty cannot treat deep forehead wrinkles like a brow lift can. If your saggy eyelids are the result of a low brow arch and skin laxity above the brow line, then a brow lift is likely a more appropriate treatment.
When a Combination Approach at Our Plastic Surgery Clinic May be Best
Since brow and eyelid lifts address different aging symptoms, a combination approach can dramatically enhance your appearance. If you have deep forehead creases and excess eyelid skin, ask Dr. Miller about a combination approach during your initial consultation.
To schedule a face-to-face consultation with Dr. Miller at his Manhattan plastic surgery clinic, call or book an appointment online today.
While facial plastic surgery has evolved significantly in the last decade alone, facelifts continue to dominate the industry. A high-quality facelift is the gold standard of anti-aging treatments. When performed by a skilled surgeon, a facelift can transform your appearance by minimizing unwanted wrinkles and lifting saggy skin around the midface and jawline.
Philip J. Miller, MD, FACS, is a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon with more than 20 years of experience. He understands the importance of precision when performing facelifts and other facial plastic surgery procedures. With extensive training and an artistic eye, Dr. Miller delivers subtle, natural-looking results that can rejuvenate your face.
The question is: Which type of facelift is right for you? Dr. Miller performs several different types of facelifts at his plastic surgery clinic in New York City. From traditional facelifts to his proprietary Miller Lift, Dr. Miller utilizes the latest techniques and advanced technology to determine the right type of facelift for you.
To ensure your facelift delivers as promised, Dr. Miller offers a unique service called the NatraLook® process. This collaborative approach allows you to design your tailored treatment plan with Dr. Miller for the most natural, satisfying results possible.
Is a Facelift the Right Choice for You?
A facelift is a popular procedure that lifts and tightens aging skin. Facelifts address several different aging skin concerns in one treatment, from deep facial creases and wrinkles to droopy jowls and skin laxity. The results of a facelift are significant and often last for 10 years or more.
With the NatraLook® process, Dr. Miller can tailor a facelift for the precise needs and goals of each patient. This personalized consultation ensures that your results complement your natural facial anatomy and fulfill your expectations.
The type of facelift that addresses your unique needs and goals depends on several different factors. Patients whose signs of aging are exclusive to the jowls and neck may benefit best from a traditional facelift, while those with heavy cheeks and midface sagging may respond better to a different type.
Miller Lift (liquid facelift)
The Miller Lift is a proprietary treatment designed by Dr. Miller. As a liquid facelift, the treatment is nonsurgical. Rather than lifting and tightening the skin through surgery, Dr. Miller uses a combination of facial fillers, like Juvéderm and Restylane, to soften wrinkles and restore lost volume, as well as collagen stimulators, like Sculptra, to tighten collagen fibers in your skin tissue. He also injects fat eliminators, like Kybella, to improve facial definition.
Along with smoothing wrinkles and deep facial creases, the Miller Lift can address volume loss in the cheeks, chin, lips, and other contours of the face.
Benefits of the Miller Lift
Using a combination of injectables allows Dr. Miller to address a variety of aging concerns in one treatment. Common benefits of the Miller Lift include:
Chin augmentation
Elimination of dark under-eye circles
Subtle lift and skin tightening
Restoration of facial volume
Enhanced facial contours
Jawline definition
Reduction of wrinkles, creases, and folds
The Miller Lift is an in-office treatment that takes just 30 minutes to complete. Downtime is minimal and most patients only experience mild side effects, such as minor bruising, swelling, and redness at the injection site.
Micro-Lift (mini facelift)
While a traditional facelift addresses deep facial creases and advanced skin laxity, a micro-lift is a mini facelift that treats moderate signs of aging. A mini facelift is targeted toward individuals in their 40s and 50s who want to freshen up their appearance without undergoing more invasive surgery.
What sets a micro-lift apart from a traditional facelift is the length of the incisions. When performing a traditional facelift, Dr. Miller creates incisions along the temple the front of the ear. A micro-life requires a far more localized approach with much smaller incisions.
Benefits of A Micro-Lift
A mini facelift is the perfect treatment to minimize the signs of aging and improve your facial appearance without extensive downtime or costly surgery. Consider a micro-lift if you have:
Moderate facial wrinkles and creases
Minor sagging around the cheeks, neck, and jawline
Skin that is just beginning to wrinkle and sag
Dr. Miller performs the micro-lift using only local anesthesia. The procedure takes just 90 minutes to complete and has minimal downtime.
Traditional Facelift (SMAS facelift)
A traditional facelift is a comprehensive procedure that lifts and tightens the superficial musculoaponeurotic system (SMAS) that connects the facial muscles to the dermis. During the aging process, the muscles that support your skin weaken while the skin that sits atop them sags. By lifting and tightening the SMAS, and removing any excess skin and fat, Dr. Miller can rejuvenate the tissue around your jawline and jowls. To learn more about a SMAS facelift, please visit ncbi.gov.
Benefits of A SMAS Facelift
While a mini facelift treats minor signs of aging, a traditional facelift addresses more advanced symptoms, such as:
Deep wrinkles and facial folds
Significant facial sagging
Laxity around the jawline and jowls
Excess skin and fat around the face
Dr. Miller performs a traditional facelift through incisions near the temples and the front of the ears, so they’re hidden by your natural facial creases.
Deep Plane Facelift
A deep plane facelift is similar to a traditional facelift, but the dissection is continued further up into the midface to allow a restoration of the sagging midface tissue. The treatment involves releasing the ligaments that tether the skin and fat of the midface. This allows repositioning of the previously immobile soft tissue of the midface. Unlike a traditional facelift, a deep plane facelift places special importance on the midace, which includes the malar fat pads. Dr. Miller lifts and tightens these pads, which naturally sag and flatten with age.
Benefits of A Deep Plane Facelift
Older adults and individuals with advanced signs of aging can reclaim the youthful tone of their skin with a deep plane facelift. The procedure is especially effective at treating:
Sunken or fallen cheeks
Excess fat deposits
Hollow cheeks
Saggy jowls
Deep folds around the mouth
Many facial plastic surgeons shy away from performing deep plane facelifts, due to their invasive nature. It’s critical to choose a surgeon with extensive experience in facial plastic surgery to avoid complications, such as nerve damage. Fortunately, Dr. Miller is a leading facial plastic surgeon in Manhattan, NY with more than 20 years of experience.
Do I Need a Neck Lift Also?
Facelifts and neck lifts often go hand in hand. Individuals with deep creases and saggy skin around the jawline often have skin laxity around the neck. A neck lift is an excellent complement to a facelift, particularly if you have crepey neck skin or horizontal bands. Combining these two treatments delivers a comprehensive rejuvenating effect that can take years off of your appearance.
Our Plastic Surgery Clinic’s Combination Approach for More Dramatic Results
On its own, a facelift can revitalize your appearance. However, for treatment that addresses a full range of aging symptoms, talk to Dr. Miller about combining your procedure with blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery) or a brow lift. These treatments focus on the top half of your face, while a facelift targets the bottom portion.
Nonsurgical treatments, such as laser skin resurfacing, microneedling, and chemical peels can help you maintain your results as you navigate the aging process.
To schedule a consultation with Dr. Miller, contact his Manhattan, NY plastic surgery clinic today.
If you’re unhappy with the appearance of your nose, you’re not alone. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, rhinoplasties, or nose jobs, are the most common facial plastic surgery procedures in the U.S. Many people feel that their nose is too prominent and detracts from other facial features, while others long for more definition of their nasal tip.
No matter your concern, double board-certified facial plastic surgeon, Philip J. Miller, MD, FACS, in New York City has the artistic skill and experience to reshape or reconstruct your nose for enhanced facial symmetry. His goal is to bring balance to your features by evaluating the prominence of your cheekbones and jawline, the width of your eyes, and even the texture of your skin before making recommendations regarding your nose.
The next step is determining whether you’re a better candidate for open or closed rhinoplasty. While both procedures can achieve exceptional results, each has its own advantages and drawbacks to consider during your consultation.
Open Rhinoplasty
During an open rhinoplasty at his plastic surgery clinic, Dr. Miller makes a small incision in the columella — the piece of tissue that separates the nostrils. Also called an external rhinoplasty, this technique opens the tip of the nose to reveal its internal structures.
An open rhinoplasty provides enhanced visibility when maneuvering through the bone, cartilage, and tissue that make up the nose. When performing this highly common type of rhinoplasty, Dr. Miller can reshape the nose and repair damage without jeopardizing its structural support.
Dr. Miller typically recommends open rhinoplasties for patients with complex structural concerns, such as:
A severely crooked nose
Nasal trauma or deformities
An asymmetrical tip
A large nasal tip
A large dorsal hump (bump on the nasal bridge)
An open technique is also best for revision rhinoplasty. If you’ve had rhinoplasty in the past and are unhappy with the results, Dr. Miller can perform open rhinoplasty to address your concerns.
Open Rhinoplasty Pros / Cons
Choosing an open rhinoplasty offers many advantages if you want to reshape your nasal structure, particularly if your case is complex. However, there are certain considerations to take into account before making your choice.
Pros: Improved Precision
Opening the columella allows Dr. Miller to see the internal structures of your nose. As a result, he can correct complex nasal deformities with precision and accuracy. Clear visibility also allows him to preserve as much of your tissue, cartilage, and bone as possible because he can reshape rather than remove it.
Pros: Enhanced Structural Support
By confining all incisions to the outside of the nose, Dr. Miller can maintain its structural stability. He’s able to create dramatic results without disrupting much of the surrounding bone, cartilage, and tissue.
Cons: Scarring
Since an open rhinoplasty requires an external incision, you may have minor scarring after the procedure. Fortunately, the Z-shaped incision is very small, so the scarring should fade with time. Furthermore, Dr. Miller carefully takes your skin and facial structure into consideration before making the incision. This step ensures that the scar is barely visible as it is between the nostrils at the base of the nose.
Cons: Longer Recovery
An open rhinoplasty is inherently more invasive than a closed rhinoplasty, so it’s no surprise that the recovery process is slightly longer. Many patients find that rhinoplasty is less painful than expected, but swelling and discomfort are common side effects of the procedure. You may also experience congestion for the first few days. Most patients can resume their normal activities within 7-14 days. To accelerate your recovery, keep the incision site clean, avoid strenuous exercise, and refrain from tobacco use.
Closed Rhinoplasty
Also called an endonasal rhinoplasty, a closed rhinoplasty is an internal procedure in which all incisions are confined to the inside of the nostrils. Patients concerned about visible scarring need not worry with a closed rhinoplasty. During the procedure, Dr. Miller carefully lifts the underlying bone, cartilage, and tissue through the nostrils, so you won’t be able to see any scarring.
Closed Rhinoplasty Pros / Cons
A closed rhinoplasty is especially appealing for those who want to make minor modifications to their nose. It’s also ideal if you have breathing problems, such as chronic sinusitis. As a more conservative type of rhinoplasty, however, this technique isn’t right for everyone.
Pros: No Visible Scarring
The primary benefit of a closed rhinoplasty is that there’s no external evidence of the procedure. All stitches are located inside the nose, so you may feel more comfortable resuming your normal activities sooner than you might after an open rhinoplasty.
Pros: Shorter Recovery Time
With no external incisions, the skin between the tip and bridge of the nose remains intact. This means blood circulation functions normally and fluid can drain rather than accumulate. As a result, most patients start to recover within one week. However, rigorous exercise, smoking, and blowing your nose can hinder your recovery.
Pros: Subtle Results
Closed rhinoplasties typically address less complex nasal concerns than open procedures. If you have a dorsal hump, wide nasal bridge, or enlarged nasal tip, a closed rhinoplasty can deliver subtle results with little impact to the surrounding tissue.
Cons: Low Visibility
Since a closed rhinoplasty is performed through the nostrils, visibility is limited during the procedure. An endoscope can provide a clearer view of the internal structures, but an open rhinoplasty will always have fewer obstructions.
Cons: Limited Modifications
With low visibility and limited access, a closed rhinoplasty is not the best choice for complex nasal modifications that require extreme precision. Instead, the closed technique is ideal for minor adjustments to the nasal tip and bridge.
Which one Should You Choose?
The best type of rhinoplasty for you depends entirely on the concerns you want to address. Neither technique is necessarily better than the other. To ensure you achieve the best results possible, Dr. Miller offers a proprietary consultation process called NatraLook. During your NatraLook consultation, he evaluates your nose and facial features while listening to your concerns and goals. This process establishes a collaborative environment in which you and Dr. Miller can create a unified vision for your results and the most natural outcome possible.
Contact Our Plastic Surgery Clinic Today
To learn more about the different types of rhinoplasty procedures Dr. Miller performs and find out which technique is best for you, contact our New York City plastic surgery clinic today.
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