Functional & Cosmetic Rhinoplasty in My Facial Plastic Surgery Practice
Most of what I do is cosmetic in nature with very little functional surgery for the face. About the only thing that I do that is functional in nature is rhinoplasty, i.e., to help one breathe better afterward. However, first of all I do not take insurance, and any patient who desires rhinoplasty from me must know that fact. However, I do not charge extra for the functional component and just bill for the cosmetic part of the procedure. (I can help you with the rhinoplasty codes and also provide you with a copy of my history and physical examination but you must submit for any insurance codes. Be forewarned that I practice ethical medicine and anything that I feel is not justifiable I will not dictate in a note if I believe the claim is false. Also, most insurance companies today compensate very poorly so be warned that you may not receive much back on the insurance part of the procedure.) Since I do not charge for the insurance part of the procedure, I believe that I am practically doing this for free if you will. One caveat since I am focused on cosmetic results, I do not perform standalone functional rhinoplasty, i.e., I do not just perform septoplasty. I also do not perform functional sinus surgery. I have worked with surgeons who can do a combination surgery with me in which they perform the functional component using your insurance and I perform the cosmetic portion for cash pay. One final note, if you are needing to have a functional septoplasty (correcting a deviated septum), please consider having this procedure done at the same time as the cosmetic portion because I use the septum to support the nasal tip and when it is gone I have to use ear cartilage, which is far inferior to the tensile strength and straightness of the septum. Hopefully, this blog article helps to clarify how I manage functional rhinoplasty in my clinical practice.
This gentleman presented with nasal obstruction, a crooked nasal bridge, an underprojected nasal tip, and a slight dorsal convexity which he did not like. As a male, he underwent a very conservative hump reduction along with refinement to his nasal tip and straightening of his nasal bridge. He also had a septoplasty to correct the nasal breathing problem.
This gentleman presented with nasal obstruction, a crooked nasal bridge, an underprojected nasal tip, and a slight dorsal convexity which he did not like. As a male, he underwent a very conservative hump reduction along with refinement to his nasal tip and straightening of his nasal bridge. He also had a septoplasty to correct the nasal breathing problem.
Samuel M. Lam, MD, FACS is a board certified plastic surgeon in Dallas, Texas. To learn more about Dr Lam’s rhinoplasty procedures please call 972.312.8105 to schedule a consultation. If you would like to ask Dr Lam a question about rhinoplasty please visit our rhinoplasty forum.