Editorial

Peter William Hellings, MD, PhD

Dear readers of Facial Plastic Surgery journal,

All of those performing rhinoplasty agree on the challenges to achieve a satisfied patient after rhinoplasty, which seems more sophisticated than other facial procedures like otoplasty, blepharoplasty, and mentoplasty. In that context, rhinoplasty surgeons must continuously question themselves on the applied techniques and study their outcomes, with the noble goal of achieving the highest possible postoperative satisfaction rates. Despite the limited number of studies on subjective satisfaction after rhinoplasty, the percentages of satisfied patients may vary from 60 to 90%, depending on the patient, the nose, and the surgeon. Innovations in the field of rhinoplasty are highly needed as revision rates remain relatively high, and most surgeons working in tertiary care centers routinely deal with multiple revision cases with often complicated histories, personalities, and noses. Innovations can be roughly distinguished into meaningful and less meaningful, depending on the goal of the innovation. According to my humble opinion, innovations in rhinoplasty are meaningful if they are meant to improve outcomes of rhinoplasty, and/or to reduce the burden of the procedure for the patient and even the surgeon. Some innovations might not be meaningful as they imply risks for less good functional and/or aesthetic outcomes, or are meant to be marketing tools to attract patients in a highly competitive and lucrative domain in medicine.

The special issue of Facial Plastic Surgery (FPS) on “Meaningful Innovation in Rhinoplasty” deals with several techniques and/or tools that might have the following meaningful impact: (1) the improvement of the likelihood of success of the rhinoplasty procedure from a patient perspective, (2) the simplification of specific surgical steps for surgeons leading to a more predictable or simpler way to achieve the goal of rhinoplasty, and/or (3) the reduction of the postoperative burden for the patient. When it comes to the improvement of outcomes, it turns out that novel techniques for patient selection like three-dimensional tools, novel grafts for septal reconstruction, dorsal augmentation, and/or nasal valve surgery might lead to better outcomes, as reported by several authors within this supplement. In addition, novel implants, powered instruments, as well as novel techniques for saddle nose deformity, might all lead to a better control of the surgical outcomes and/or reduced need for harvesting cartilage beyond the nose. Finally, long-term follow-up and personalized care cannot be stressed enough, as rhinoplasty remains the ultimate example of “precision medicine,” with the aim to deliver the best possible result agreed upon with the patient before the surgery.

It is with great pride that I present to you this edition of FPS on “Meaningful Innovations in Rhinoplasty” with several unique contributions. I hope you will enjoy reading the scientific contributions as much as I have enjoyed encouraging the expert rhinoplasty colleagues from different continents to contribute to this unique volume of FPS. I sincerely hope that all our colleagues dealing with rhinoplasty will join efforts and learn from each other to achieve the best possible outcomes for their patients.

Publication History

Article published online:
19 December 2022