Ultrasonic Rhinoplasty
In Houston
Ultrasonic rhinoplasty is the next evolution of rhinoplasty techniques. Another name for ultrasonic rhinoplasty is piezorhinoplasty or rhinosculpture.
Our Houston ultrasonic rhinoplasty procedure uses a powered handpiece called a piezotome. The piezotome has different bits, much like drill bits. Each bit has a different purpose. Some of the bits rasp tissue, some of the bits cut bone, and yet other bits drill through the bone.
The piezotome operates on a principle called piezoelectrics. For simplicity, if the piezotome touched my finger, the instrument would do absolutely nothing. If the piezotome tip touches bone or cartilage, the high-frequency oscillation of the piezotome can cut or shape the bone and cartilage with NO surrounding tissue trauma. The lack of surrounding tissue trauma is the key to why ultrasonic nose job surgery has such little bleeding and swelling.
A common theme on many of the pages on this site is that tissue trauma leads to scarring. You can clearly deduce that less tissue trauma will lead to less scarring and more reproducible results.
An example of the piezotome in action in a rhinoplasty surgery is shown in this video available on YouTube. The video depicts actual surgical content, so viewers who are squeamish should probably not watch the video. You can clearly see how the piezotome just melts through the tough nasal bone.
Advantages and disadvantages of ultrasonic rhinoplasty
Advantages and disadvantages of ultrasonic rhinoplasty
Ultrasonic rhinoplasty is essentially an extension of structural rhinoplasty and replaces the osteotomes and rasps with the piezotome.
The primary advantages of the piezotome over cold instruments are:
- Extremely precise cut lines with no trauma to bone or tissue adjacent to the cut line
- No bleeding
- The piezotome has a built-in irrigation system that irrigates out debris and keeps the tissues cooler. Again, this reduces tissue trauma.
The sum result of these advantages is that patients have less pain, less bruising, less swelling, and shorter recovery time. Furthermore, the ability to “sculpt” the nose in a very precise manner is another advantage. The end result of this is a more reproducible and consistent rhinoplasty result. Some patients are even able to have dinner at a restaurant the night of surgery and can return to work with makeup within 5 days.
The only disadvantage to an ultrasonic rhinoplasty in Houston is slightly increased operative time and slightly increased cost. The bits and instruments add about $500-750 to the surgical procedure cost, and the extra operating room time adds about $500 to the cost of surgery.
It is this lack of disadvantages that made ultrasonic rhinoplasty the choice for all rhinoplasty procedures exclusively since 2017. Dr. Athre was the first adopter of the piezotome to perform ultrasonic nose jobs in Houston.
Dr Athre learned from Dr. Olivier Gerbault (Paris, France), who essentially invented the concept of using the piezotome for rhinoplasty procedures. It is a testament to Dr. Athre’s mentality to continually evolve in the hunt for the perfect rhinoplasty outcome.
Keep in mind that there is no one perfect technique that can be used on every single patient and every single situation. There are no right and wrong techniques. The purpose of these pages is to give the reader an idea of what these various techniques are and what are some of the pros and cons of these techniques. My opinion is that the most interesting thing about rhinoplasty surgery is that it is absolutely necessary for the rhinoplasty surgeon to be a master of every single technique possible and also be an innovator of new techniques. This gives the surgeon a repertoire of options because you may never know when you may have to reach into your bag of tricks and pull that technique out.
Client Testimonial
“Dr Athre did an amazing job on my nose. His staff treated me like family and I felt very comfortable getting the work done. He was very intuitive on what I was trying to accomplish and knowledgable enough to work through the issues involved to get the result I wanted, especially considering it was a revision surgery. The whole experience was great and helped me so much!”
