Many people who are confident about their nose have considered plastic surgery. However, the pain, swelling, bruising, and significant downtime associated with traditional rhinoplasty techniques can be prohibitive. Rhinoplasty with ultrasound, a cutting-edge technique used by plastic surgeons based in Montreal Dr. Hani Shinnodramatically reduces risks and recovery time, making the procedure more feasible for many.
“Imagine Da Vinci or Michelangelo sculpting with a mallet and hammer. That’s how we used to sculpt the nose,” says Dr. Hani Sinno. “I did that for the first 10 years of my practice. Then I discovered piezo. It etches bone and doesn’t cut soft tissue. It doesn’t cut blood vessels, nerves, tissue, anything.”
The press machine uses ultrasonic vibrations to make very tiny cuts on the surface of the bone. When used by a skilled surgeon, it can precisely carve and reshape the delicate bones of the nose.
“If you cut the nose by hand, you might accidentally break a bone,” he says. “It’s not as precise. With the piezoform, you get micrometer precision and the ability to really reshape and structure the tissue.” Most rhinoplasty patients have a specific aesthetic in mind, and the more precise a surgeon is, the closer they can get to the patient’s vision.
Understanding how piezoelectric works is often easier with a demonstration. “This is an eggshell,” he says, selecting a pristine, unbroken shell from a carton on his desk. “Well, you see, I carved a ‘Dr.’ He spins the egg to reveal “Dr.” engraved on the shell by the piezo. “If you used a hammer, it would be broken.”
As you can imagine, recovery from a piezo procedure is simpler—with much less swelling and bruising—than recovery from a traditional rhinoplasty. Because the ultrasound technique causes much less trauma to the nose, patients can return to feeling and looking normal much faster. In addition, the risk of scarring after ultrasound rhinoplasty is no more significant than the risk associated with traditional rhinoplasty.
“You have 80% less swelling and bruising, which is the problem you have with traditional rhinoplasty,” he says Dr. Shinno. “People get really swollen and can’t get out.”
Ultrasound rhinoplasty has another key benefit: it reduces the risk of complications and revisions. After all, the last thing a patient wants after healing is to have to go through the whole process all over again. “When you do it manually, sometimes you don’t know that you haven’t removed all the bone,” he says. “And if you have some bone powder left, the bone turns into a hump. It was one of the complications I had most often in my early practice, and I’ve never had that complication again.”
Patients who want to improve the contour of their nose know not to choose just any plastic surgeon. But when you combine the touch of a skilled surgeon with a tool that’s precise enough to etch an eggshell, there’s a good chance you’ll end up with exactly the results you were hoping for.
