What is Piezo Rhinoplasty and How Does It Work?

What is a Piezo Rhinoplasty?

The technical term for ultrasonic rhinoplasty is piezo rhinoplasty. Piezo is a new type of rhinoplasty that does not use a hammer and chisel to reshape the nasal bones. It allows for greater precision and lowers the risk of unintended trauma and soft tissue damage that can occur with standard rhinoplasty procedures.

How Does Piezo Rhinoplasty Work?

This method of rhinoplasty avoids the use of hammers and chisels, which are crude instruments. Instead, the nasal bones are reshaped and reduced using a piezotome. A piezotome is specialized equipment that uses ultrasonic energy to send ultrasonic energy to the bone while avoiding any soft tissue damage. There is no collateral injury because the energy is only delivered to the bone. Therefore, soft tissue swelling and bruising are reduced. The piezotome device comes with several sculpting tool-like attachments that are used to alter the bone.

What are the Benefits of a Piezo Rhinoplasty?

Piezo is a gentler method that allows the surgeon to be more precise. Swelling and bruising are reduced, and some patients experience no bruising at all. The splintering of the bone and unintentional fractures can occur when using a hammer and chisel technique. This is avoided with a piezotome. It also enables sculpting in ways that are impossible to do with fine rasps. Also, the shattering of the nasal bones can be avoided in some cases.

Piezo rhinoplasty is based on the philosophy of reshaping rather than the destructive removal of tissue that is frequently used in traditional rhinoplasty procedures.

Am I a Good Candidate for a Piezo Rhinoplasty?

The instrumentation is intended for the shaping of the nasal bone. As a result, only those patients who require a nasal bone reduction or modification are eligible. Bony hump reduction, adjustment of bony deviations or irregularities, and narrowing of the bony mid vault are some of the procedures that can be done.

Nasal tip and cartilage modifications, which are generally done with sutures and grafts, are not suitable for this procedure. Because only the high density of bone allows energy transmission, the piezotome will not cut or sculpt cartilage. As a result, if you only need tip surgery, the piezotome is not for you.

Another thing to keep in mind is that a piezo rhinoplasty requires an open approach and cannot be performed using a closed or nasal technique because the instruments are not long enough, and piezo bone sculpting requires the direct vision of the bones. However, the benefits of employing the piezotome for rhinoplasty outweigh the existence of a hardly noticeable scar.

How Is the Recovery from Piezo Rhinoplasty?

Following surgery, there is minimal to no pain. Bruising is also reduced dramatically. During the first healing period, a nasal splint is necessary in the usual way to maintain the nasal bones in place. After about a week, the splint is removed. The majority of patients will have minimal or no bruising when the splint is removed.

However, because multiple distinct tissues are affected during rhinoplasty, the final effect can take up to a year to notice after healing. Unfortunately, there is no shortcut to the final result, but there are benefits in the early recovery period and the precision of the technique, both of which improve the quality of the outcomes.