Improving Unilateral Nasal Congestion Through Functional Rhinoplasty

Hello. This is OJICO Hospital & Plus, which is dedicated only to your beautiful and healthy nose.

This time, we are sharing information about how unilateral nasal congestion was improved through functional rhinoplasty.

Many people think of rhinoplasty as a way to transform their image through a sharper, more refined nose line. At the same time, the nose is an important external feature and also a functional organ responsible for breathing and the sense of smell. When nasal function is affected by congestion or unilateral nasal congestion, functional problems can also be addressed through rhinoplasty, which is why it is one of the more popular plastic surgery procedures. A surgery in which both the functional and aesthetic aspects of the nose are performed at the same time is called functional rhinoplasty.

One of the most common symptoms in functional rhinoplasty is nasal congestion or unilateral nasal congestion. These symptoms are most likely caused by rhinitis. Rhinitis refers to inflammation inside the nose and is broadly divided into allergic rhinitis and hypertrophic rhinitis. In the case of allergic rhinitis, symptoms can be improved with medication, but complete cure is difficult, so it is best to visit a clinic and receive treatment before it develops into chronic rhinitis. Hypertrophic rhinitis causes persistent nasal congestion or unilateral nasal congestion and continuous runny nose regardless of the season. Through functional rhinoplasty, functional improvement and aesthetic correction can be performed at the same time, making it one of the procedures with a high satisfaction rate among nose surgeries.

Structural rhinitis caused by the internal structural abnormalities described above can be treated with functional nasal surgery in cases such as deviated septum, inferior turbinate hypertrophy, and nasal valve stenosis. Simply put, a deviated septum means the septal cartilage, which acts as the partition in the middle of the nose, is bent; inferior turbinate hypertrophy means the inferior turbinate, the soft tissue inside the nose, has enlarged; and nasal valve stenosis means the nasal valve, which acts as the roof inside the nose, has narrowed and become stenotic.

As in the cases above, if you look at reviews of functional nasal surgery, each person has a different condition, but they all show symptoms of nasal congestion or unilateral nasal congestion. Even if the nose shape looks the same, the cause differs from person to person. Therefore, a satisfactory functional rhinoplasty requires an accurate diagnosis, with the appropriate surgical method and materials applied.

With only symptoms such as nasal congestion or unilateral nasal congestion, it is difficult to determine by visual inspection whether the cause is allergic rhinitis or structural rhinitis. It is important to clearly check the internal condition of the nose through various devices. If you are looking into functional rhinoplasty, it is safer and more satisfying to choose after carefully checking whether the medical staff have strong anatomical knowledge of the nose, whether they have ample related experience and expertise, whether equipment is available to accurately assess the condition of your nose, and whether aftercare can be reliably guaranteed.

In general, people looking into rhinoplasty often want to improve the current shape of the nose into a straighter and more balanced form, whether the nose is too low, too high, has a hump, is crooked, upturned, or drooping. In this way, external correction and functional improvement can be performed at the same time. However, if surgery is performed only with an aesthetic approach, postoperative functional problems may lead to revision surgery. Therefore, it is important that surgery be performed with consideration of both the internal structure and the external appearance before the operation.

At OJICO Hospital & Plus, to ensure safe and satisfactory functional rhinoplasty, 3D-CT scans, internal endoscopy, various allergy tests, and internal nasal function tests are performed before surgery to accurately identify the cause of nasal congestion or unilateral nasal congestion. Based on the collected data, a surgical plan is established, and the procedure is carried out with materials and methods suited to the individual.

In functional rhinoplasty, functional improvement is prioritized first. Depending on symptoms such as deviated septum, inferior turbinate hypertrophy, and nasal valve stenosis, different surgical methods and treatments are used for each individual, and then cosmetic rhinoplasty is performed.

For the cosmetic rhinoplasty performed after functional improvement, silicone is used for the bridge of the nose and autologous cartilage is used for the tip. The autologous cartilage used for the tip includes ear cartilage, septal cartilage, and autologous costal cartilage, and the appropriate material for each person is selected through preoperative testing.

To minimize an artificial look after rhinoplasty, the silicone used for the bridge is not a pre-made implant used as is. Instead, surgery is performed after carefully tailoring it by hand while considering the individual's overall image, as well as various aspects such as the width, length, breadth, and height of the nasal bridge.

At OJICO Hospital & Plus, CEO and lead surgeon Yun Hyeon-cheol personally handles one-on-one care for the entire process related to functional rhinoplasty, from consultation, to establishing the surgical plan, performing the surgery, treatment, and follow-up visits, allowing patients to receive high-level medical care before and after surgery.

For postoperative care, an Anplus membership card is issued to provide a one-year warranty after surgery, and a surgical responsibility guarantee system is in place to prepare for all possible situations after surgery, such as postoperative pain, inflammation, or dissatisfaction with the appearance. This allows for safer and more satisfactory functional rhinoplasty.

(The image above shows before-and-after photos of functional rhinoplasty that improved unilateral nasal congestion at OJICO Hospital & Plus.)

This concludes the information about functional rhinoplasty for improving unilateral nasal congestion at OJICO Hospital & Plus. I hope this article is very helpful for those who are currently looking into functional rhinoplasty because of nasal congestion or unilateral nasal congestion. Thank you.