Plastic Surgery (Rhinoplasty) recommendations needed (insurance, deductible, allergy)

[ecd23889]

My 20 year old daughter would like to have a nose job (rhinoplasty) done to repair some damage she sustained in a fall a couple of years ago. We've resisted going this route, but now feel it might be the best option, as her nose is definitely misshapen and quite off center. (Sorry, it's hard to describe the problem with out you seeing her nose).

Since we are new to this we would appreciate hearing from some folks who have undergone rhinoplasty to tell us about their experiences, do they have recommendations on doctors to go to (or who to stay away from), general cost, recovery time, level of satisfaction, any complications, etc. We live in Northern Virginia, but would consider the right surgeon in VA, MD or DC.

And, if you have any experience with insurance covering this type of procedure we'd love to hear about that as well. My daughter does have difficulty breathing out of one side, but the doctors have never really talked about having something done to correct this, so I don't think the procedure would be considered anything more than cosmetic.

Thanks very much for any insight you may be able to provide.

[smithy77]

A friend of mine had reconstructive plastic surgery after a terrible accident some years ago. He swears that the people at the Austin-Westin Center for cosmetic surgery are miracle workers. They evidently have a stellar reputation in NoVa, but I guess any plastic surgery has its risks.

[VicodinES]

I had my nose rebuilt about 4 years ago. I had a deviated septum and turbinate reduction. I could barely breathe through my nose at the time. My nose was quite off center, and somewhat functionless. I had BC/BS as my insurance, and they covered all of it except for my deductible.

It was done by an ENT, although I had previously seen a cosmetic surgeon just about straightening it out. The surgery was not particulary painful, but did take about 4 days off of work to recover from. I could not breathe at all through my nose for 2 days, and then it gradually opened up. When the packing was taken out, it was a whole new nose. My nose was straight, and I could breathe through it. This lasted about 2-3 months, and then it was congested again. I went through allergy testing, i hit several triggers, was put on allergy shots, and it made no difference. I had several other things tried, including various allergy prescriptions, and none of them seemed to help. I would say that I can breath 5-10% better than before the surgery. Fortunately, the ENT did not want to do any more surgery on it, because taking too much material out causes empty nose syndrome, which basically means that the structures in the nose aren't funneling the air through channels, and it all gets bunched up in the bottom.

If it's just for cosmetic purposes, then it's worth it if your insurance covers it, but I don't know if it's been worth it in terms of improved breathing. If your doctor promises incredible results and 100% improvement, time to move on to another surgeon. Mine was pretty straightforward about what to expect, and he was pretty much spot on.